Two sides who have simply struggled to win games in recent weeks lock horns on Saturday as Newcastle Jets welcome Central Coast Mariners to the McDonald Jones Stadium.
The hosts head into this tie without a win in their last 12 games, while the visitors have failed to taste victory in their last six outings.
Match preview
Newcastle Jets failed to end their poor run of results last time out as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sydney FC.
Craig Deans's men were the architects of their downfall on this occasion as 34-year-old defender Nigel Boogaar inadvertently put the ball through his goal to cancel Roy O'Donovan's 59th-minute opener.
The result extended the Jets' winless run to 12 games, with their last win coming almost three months ago when they beat Melbourne Victory on February 21.
This dire run of results has been down to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 24 goals and failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 12 outings.
With 14 points from 21 games, Newcastle Jets are rooted at the bottom of the A-League table, one point behind fellow strugglers Melbourne Victory.
On the other hand, after surging to the top of the table with several brilliant outings, Central Coast Mariners have come crashing down to earth in recent weeks.
Alen Stajcic's side have managed just one win in their last 10 games, suffering three defeats and picking up six draws, including the goalless draw at Brisbane Roar last time out.
Despite their struggles, the Mariners remain second in the log, albeit 11 points adrift of runaway league leaders Melbourne City.
However, with four games to go and three points separating them from seventh-placed Western Sydney Wanderers, Central Coast Mariners will try to avoid any slip-ups which could be a huge blow to their chances of a top-six finish.
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Team News
Newcastle Jets will still have to cope without the services of striker Tete Yengi, who has been out with a foot injury since March.
Twenty-four-year-old versatile midfielder Ben Kantarovski is yet to feature for the hosts this season as he is battling with a severe calf problem.
On the other hand, barring any late fitness issues, Central Coast Mariners have a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns heading into Saturday's showdown.
With nine and seven goals to their names respectively, Matt Simon and Alou Koul have contributed 53% of the Mariners' goals this season, and we expect the duo to once again lead their attack.
Newcastle Jets possible starting lineup:
Italiano; Millar, Koutroumbis, Topor-Stanley, O'Toole; Ugarkovic, Thurgate; Yuel, Prso, O'Donovan; Stamatelopoulos
Central Coast Mariners possible starting lineup:
Birighitti; Nigro, Tongyik, Rowles, Clisby; Nisbet, Bozanic, Stensness, De Silva; Kuol, Simon
We say: Newcastle Jets 1-2 Central Coast Mariners
Both sides head into this tie on a poor run of results and will be desperate to claim all three points. However, the visitors have been the better side for most of the season, and considering they boast a stronger squad, we fancy them to steal a narrow win.
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 Central Coast Mariners win with a probability of 40.18%. A win for Newcastle Jets had a probability of 34.59% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Central Coast Mariners win was 0-1 with a probability of 8.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.69%) and 0-2 (6.5%). The likeliest Newcastle Jets win was 1-0 (8.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.89%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 8.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Central Coast Mariners in this match.
