A-League Round 3 Preview

With a win in front of The Port and the rest of their home fans, Auckland FC got their season underway.

Jesse Randall, who scored the only goal of the game, looks to be their most promising threat early in this season. He came close in their opening game and sealed the deal in round two.

In that game, Auckland barely had an expected goal in the stat column. They actually had a bigger chance of scoring in their opener against the Victory. But goals have been a rarity in the two AFC games to start the season.

I’ll be backing the under 2.5 total goals once again.

Central Coast are coming off the back of a 2-0 loss to Sydney FC, but they did beat the Jets in round one.

Both sides have been conceding goals, and the Nix seem to concede first.

But like last week, it was good to see the team dig in and grind to find an equaliser and then the winner in the dying moments.

Last year, Wellington won 3-0 in this fixture and then drew back at home in Wellington. I’m starting to have a bit more confidence that side isn’t just going to give up and fight for every point this year.

Newcastle lost 3-2 in round one to Central Coast and then came out and beat Melbourne Victory 5-2! Talk about a turnaround.

I’m looking at over 3.5 total goals in this fixture against Sydney FC, who have a win and a loss to start their season. A 2-1 loss to open their campaign, followed by a 2-0 win.

With Newcastle in goal-scoring form but leaky on defence, I think both teams will be seeing plenty of scoring opportunities on Saturday evening.