Week one started in the pouring rain and saw zero goals in the opening match between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory. That’s not to say there was no action though, a red card overturned, a missed penalty and then a red card that stood.
The newcomers on the block, Auckland FC announced themselves with a 2-0 win over the Brisbane Roar. They crowd loved it, and it looked like the players did as well. They’ll look to put on another show in the city of sails this weekend when they take on Sydney FC.
We rounded off with a dominant 6-1 where Macarthur led 5-0 at halftime…
Four out of six wasn’t a bad start to the season, let’s see where we are at for this week’s fixtures.
The Bulls showed up in style last week netting five goals in the first half and going on to win 6-1. The Jets landed some punches but were unable to crack the Melbourne City Blues’ defence despite the man advantage.
If Macarthur can dominate the midfield like they did in their opener, they should be able to get some quality looks at goal, it might not be six goals, but I do expect them to bang in a couple at least.
The Jets will have an extra emphasis on starting strong after a sluggish start in their opener, but I see the Bulls being too good once again at home.
After a week one bye, Adelaide United will be rearing to go against a Mariners side that failed to score in last year’s grand final rematch.
The Mariners won’t be happy with sharing the points in their opening game, but they have been known to start slowly.
Adelaide started last year’s season with a 3-0 win over the Mariners and I’d be backing them to do it again.
We had the battle of Sydney last week and now it’s Melbourne’s turn. This edition of the Melbourne Derby is shaping up to be a great game but low scoring by the looks of things.
Melbourne City had to fight hard for their win over the Jets after going up early. There will be some shuffling around by both teams while they try to rework their formations to fit in some more attacking players.
I think we’ll see a winner at the end of 90 minutes but I’m happy to play the double chance to cover both sides.
Perth Glory were rubbish last week and much of it thanks to their own doing. A forgettable start but they’re back on home soil this week taking on last year’s semi-finalists.
The Phoenix were held to a 1-1 draw in Wellington but should feel confident heading over the ditch. They are unbeaten against the Glory in their last 10 fixtures.
The Nix will feel like they were unlucky not to take three points from their season opener, I think they’ll take care of business this week against an embarrassed Glory side.
The Black Knights stole the show last week arriving on the scene with a 2-0 win over the Roar but, they’ll have their work cut out for them weekend as they host a star-studded Sydney FC side.
24 thousand Auckland fans showed up in spectacular fashion last week and no doubt they’ll fill Go Media Stadium again over the long weekend. Led by The Port stand, I think fans will have more to cheer about this weekend with the home side coming away with at least a point.
In a new era for Western United, they’ll be at their home park, Ironbark Field which they’ll be hoping becomes their fortress over the next few months. They are a young side but looked well balanced as they left Wellington with a point in their opening game.
Western Sydney fell short in their opener but there were plenty of positives, particularly the way they defended against the probably the best attacking line in the league.
World Cup and Champions League winner, Juan Mata came off the bench in the Sydney Derby but I’m expecting him to start this weekend, control the midfield and unlock Western Sydney’s attacking players.