A-League Round 10 (31/10 to 2/11)

Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
Sydney United v Central Coast


The completion of Round 9 saw a changing of the guard at the top of the table, with Adelaide taking a clear lead as Melbourne continue to falter. Melbourne were beaten convincingly by Sydney, 2-0, whereas Adelaide showed their fighting qualities to score a come from behind 2-1 victory over struggling Perth Glory. In other games, Queensland continued to shine on their travels with a hard fought 1-0 win over the improving Wellington, and Central Coast returned to winning ways with a scrappy 1-0 victory over visiting Newcastle. Our match of the round is between 06/07 grand finalists, Adelaide United v Melbourne.

Friday, 31 October
Adelaide v Melbourne

Summary: League leaders and Asian Champions League finalists, Adelaide United, lock horns with Melbourne Victory for the second time this season. In Round 4, Melbourne were victorious by 1-0 in a tight and tense encounter, despite going down to 10 men midway through the first half. That game sparked an incredible run of red cards for Melbourne of which has proven a key factor in displacing them off the top of the table. No less than four Melbourne players have served suspensions since then, with two of them still kicking their heels on the sidelines. In Round 9, Adelaide captured a controversial come from behind 2-1 win against Perth Glory whereas Melbourne were toothless in a 2-0 loss to big city rivals Sydney.

Adelaide
In: Costanzo, Spagnuolo
Out: Galekovic, Reid, Agostino

Melbourne
In:
Out: Thompson, Fabiano, Hernandez (quad), Ryall , Elasi

Verdict: Melbourne is a team in freefall at the moment. The 06/07 champions have notched up only 1 win in the last 5 and have been held scoreless in 3 of their last 4. In contrast, Adelaide has made a habit out of winning without playing particulary well. The football gods smiled on the Reds once again last week when the referee incorrectly awarded a penalty for a foul that was a foot or two outside the 18-yard box. Travis Dodd cooly converted to make it 2-1 and complete a stirring late come back. Adelaide travel to Japan midweek to contest the first leg of the ACL final against Gamba Osaka, so it is natural that manager Aurelio Vidmar will have one eye on that encounter. Melbourne are down to the bare bones up front with Fabiano and Thompson still out through suspension, while their most creative player, Carlos Hernandez, is out with a quadricep strain. Taking into account Adelaide's future committments and Melbourne's depleted strike force, a low scoring game looks likely.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals (Confidence: 7/10)
Adelaide 2 - 3 Melbourne

Saturday, 1 November
Sydney United v Central Coast

Summary: Both sides returned to winning ways last week with Sydney impressive 2-0 victors in Melbourne and Central Coast 1-0 winners at home to Newcastle. Sydney's win was all the more impressive considering that they fielded a makeshift central pairing with youngsters Golec and Busch showing up well. Central Coast have had the wood on their fellow South-East rivals in recent times with 5 wins and only 2 losses in their last nine meetings.

Sydney
In: Biddle
Out: Santalab

Central Coast
In: Owens, Clark, Boogaard, Jedinak
Out:

Verdict: Central Coast are near full-strength for this fixture excluding long-term absentees, Heffernan and Elrich. Sydney are still missing a host of first team regulars including goalkeeper Clint Bolton, striker Alex Brosque, and defenders Timpano and Fyfe. Central Coast are the highest scoring team in the league, and unlike Melbourne last week, they have few injury concerns to worry about. Therefore, I expect Sydney's young and inexperienced backline to come under more scrutiny in this game compared to their last. Central Coast are undefeated on their travels so far and with a host of potent strikers within their ranks, it is highly likely that they will keep that record intact against an undermanned Sydney.

Pick: Central Coast +0,0.5 (Confidence: 8/10)
Sydney United 3 - 3 Central Coast