Two teams in contrasting form face off when Wellington Phoenix host the Central Coast Mariners on Sunday morning.
The New Zealand outfit lost 2-1 to reigning A-League champions Sydney FC last time out, while the visitors saw off Western United 3-2.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ufuk Talay's men have collected just four points from their opening five league outings, leaving them lying in 11th position in the top-flight table.
The Sky Stadium outfit enjoyed a very successful 2019-20 campaign, finishing in third place and reaching the playoffs as a result.
However, they have not been able to build on that success this time around and have struggled for any sort of form so far this season.
A win over the weekend could transform the Phoenix's fortunes and catapult them up the A-League standings, but Talay will know his side face a tough task.
The Mariners are sitting pretty at the top of the table after winning five of their seven league games so far.
Alen Stajcic's men have been in impressive form in recent weeks, winning back-to-back fixtures and scoring six goals in the process.
The Central Coast Stadium outfit won their only domestic title back in 2013 and will be desperate to add to it this year.
Three points at the weekend would strengthen their status at the top of the division and confirm their status as one of this season's strongest sides.
Wellington Phoenix Australian A-League form: LDLWL
Central Coast Mariners Australian A-League form: WLWLWW
Team News
Left-winger Reno Piscopo has resumed training with his teammates after the 22-year-old recovered from a calf injury, but he is not expected to be risked in this one.
Talay may be tempted to make some changes to his starting XI after the defeat last time out, with summer-signing Tomer Hemed yet to find the back of the net for his new side.
The Mariners have a fully-fit squad to choose from for this upcoming clash and will be keen to put out their strongest side in order to maintain their momentum.
Stajcic's big decision is whether to start teenage sensation Alou Kuol up front or not after the 19-year-old came off the bench against Western United to bag a brace.
Wellington Phoenix possible starting lineup:
Marinovic; McGarry, Laws, DeVere, Payne; Lewis, Devlin, Rufer, Davila; Hemed, Ball
Central Coast Mariners possible starting lineup:
Birighitti; Clisby, Rowles, Tongyik, Nigro; Bouman, Stensness, Bozanic, De Silva; Kuol, Urena
We say: Wellington Phoenix 1-2 Central Coast Mariners
These are two teams having contrasting seasons, and we expect the result to reflect their fortunes to date. The Central Coast Mariners have been scoring freely in recent weeks, and we think their attacking talents will be too much for a struggling Wellington side to handle.
Top betting tip
George Cannon
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wellington Phoenix win with a probability of 50.88%. A win for Central Coast Mariners had a probability of 25.81% and a draw had a probability of 23.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wellington Phoenix win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.65%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.02%) and 2-0 (8.02%). The likeliest Central Coast Mariners win was 1-2 (6.53%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.85%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 3.7% likelihood.
