Fresh off the back of ending their six game unbeaten run, Central Coast Mariners travel to AAMI Park on Saturday to take on league leaders Melbourne City.
The hosts will aim to quickly return to winning ways after they were held to a 2-2 draw against Wellington Phoenix in their last outing.
Match preview
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Melbourne City's title celebrations were delayed for another week after they were forced to an entertaining 2-2 draw by a resilient Wellington Phoenix side.
In an end-to-end affair, Naoki Tsubaki cancelled out Tomer Hemed's opener in the 58th minute before Jamie Maclaren came off the bench to turn the game on its head with a brilliant strike, but Hemed completed his brace with two minutes on the clock to force a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Patrick Kisnorbo's men had picked up four straight victories and five in their last six games, including a 7-0 annihilation of local rivals Melbourne Victory in the derby.
They have now avoided defeat in their most recent nine outings and this fine run has been down to their dominance on home turf, where they boast the league's best record with nine wins and one draw in 11 games.
With 45 points from 22 games, Melbourne City sit at the summit of the A-League table and could clinch their first Australian top-flight title with a win on Saturday.
Central Coast Mariners, on the other hand, ended their six-game winless run with a hard-earned 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets last time out.
Veteran striker Matt Simon grabbed his 10th goal of the campaign when he calmly converted from the penalty spot in the 54th minute to hand the Mariners their 10th win of the season.
After falling off the pace in recent weeks, the win will serve as a huge confidence boost for Alen Stajcic's men, who are now in the driving seat to finish in the playoff places.
While they have a game in hand, Central Coast Mariners currently sit third in the league table, two points behind second-placed Sydney FC and with a five-point cushion in the top-six places.
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Team News
Twenty-one-year-old defender Nathaniel Atkinson remains ruled out with a hamstring injury he sustained versus Wellington Phoenix on April 5.
Andrew Nabbout will also be unable to take part in Saturday's encounter having picked up an adductor problem in last week's clash with Adelaide United.
Jamie Maclaren was given a breather as he started off the bench last time out, but we expect the free-scoring striker to return to the starting lineup on Saturday.
The 27-year-old has been instrumental in Melbourne City's title charge, leading the league's scoring chart with 25 goals in 22 games.
Following an injury-free clash with Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners will head into this tie with a clean bill of health barring any late fitness issues.
Marco Urena returned to the fold last week after serving his suspension for receiving a straight red in the game against Brisbane Roar on April 24 and we expect the Costa Rican striker to retain his spot in the side.
Melbourne City possible starting lineup:
Glover; Galloway, Reis, Good, Jamieson; Metcalfe, O'Neill, Berenguer; Tilio, Noone, Maclaren
Central Coast Mariners possible starting lineup:
Birighitti; Nigro, Tongyik, Rowles, Clisby; Nisbet, Bozanic, Stensness, De Silva; Kuol, Simon
We say: Melbourne City 2-0 Central Coast Mariners
Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners have been two of the best sides in the division this season and we can expect an entertaining contest between both sides.
The visitors have struggled for results in recent games, while the hosts head into Saturday's clash in stronger form following a series of impressive outings.
We predict Melbourne City will maintain their fine form and win the tie to confirm their first-ever league title.
Top tip
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 Melbourne City win with a probability of 61.95%. A draw had a probability of 19.8% and a win for Central Coast Mariners had a probability of 18.25%.
The most likely scoreline for a Melbourne City win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.83%) and 1-0 (8.05%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.94%), while for a Central Coast Mariners win it was 1-2 (4.97%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Melbourne City would win this match.
