A-League Round 11 (7/11 to 9/11)

Sydney United v Wellington Phoenix
Queensland Roar v Melbourne Victory


Teams at the top of the A-League ladder continue to play musical chairs as it is now Melbourne's turn to lead the way. It has been like a poisoned chalice in recent weeks with Sydney and more recently Adelaide, faultering once having claimed top position. Round 10 will be remembered as a cluster of matches that yielded 16 goals, an average of 4 a game! The pick of the bunch was Central Coast's amazing 3-goal, second half comeback at Sydney to take a share of the spoils in a 3-3 thriller. Sydney will look to put that nightmare behind them against poor travellers Wellington, while Central Coast will take the week off as their scheduled opponents Adelaide prepare for the ACL final. Melbourne will take on Queensland in good spirits after performing heroics against Adelaide and a poor refereeing decision, to steal 3 valuable away points with a 3-2 victory. In the final match of the round, struggling sides Perth and Newcastle fight it out to keep their slim play-off hopes alive.

Friday, 7 November
Sydney United (3rd) v Wellington Phoenix (8th)

Summary: Seething Sydney battle it out against wasteful Wellington to open the 10th round of the A-League. Last weekend, Sydney drew at home 3-3 with Central Coast while Wellington lost 2-0 in a bottom of the table clash with Perth Glory. Sydney were seemingly heading for 3pts after leading 3-0 halfway through the second term but an inexperienced back line succumbed to a spirited Mariners fightback. Wellington had lots of possession at Perth but were punished for their lack of invention in the attacking third by a Nikita Rukavytsya double.

Sydney
In: Popovic, Fyfe
Out:

Wellington
In: Hearfield, Muscat
Out:

Verdict: Sydney manager, John Kosmina, has described how the result last Saturday still sits firmly in the back of his mind and that his players will be 'breaking a leg' to put things right. They will be assisted in seeking redemption with the services of experienced defenders, captain Tony Popovic and fellow centre-half Ian Fyfe, the latter returning from suspension. Wellington's best player, striker Shane Smeltz, this week agreed to sign with new team North Queensland and will begin his tenure their next season. This must be a kick in the teeth for players and fans alike. Sydney's inclusions and determination for this match compared to Wellington's poor away form and questionable motivation leads me to a home victory.

Pick: Sydney United -0.5,1
Sydney 1 - 2 Wellington

Saturday, 8 November
Queensland Roar (4th) v Melbourne Victory (1st)

Summary: Queensland will attempt to become the first team in the A-League this season to notch up 3 wins in a row, after winning 2-1 away to Newcastle last week. Despite going behind to a controversial first half penalty, Melbourne fought back twice to record a fine 3-2 away win in Adelaide. This was by far Melbourne's most spirited performance on their travels this season and they will fancy themselves here against a Queensland side who is yet to record a victory at home (0-1-3).

Queensland
In: Grossman, Griffin
Out: Reinaldo, Seo, Kruse, Devere, Minniecon

Melbourne
In: Thompson, Fabiano
Out: Berger, Hernandez, Ryall

Verdict: It seems that Melbourne enjoy playing in Queensland with a record of 3 wins, 2 draws, and only 1 loss on their visits to Suncorp Stadium. Queensland remain without first choice defenders Devere and Seo whereas Melbourne retain strikers Thompson and Fabiano from suspension. Melbourne will miss the drive that Hernandez and Berger provide from midfield but with the likes of Brebner, Lopez, and Broxham, the away team have the depth to cover the void in that area. Queensland have only scored 3 goals at home which is a worry considering that Melbourne now has a full compliment of strikers available for the first time since Round 2.

Pick: Melbourne DNB (level ball)
Queensland 0 - 1 Melbourne