Macarthur FC vs Melbourne City prediction
Macarthur FC
The Bulls are approaching this match with serious personnel changes that are hitting the entire structure of the team's game. Belgian defender Dino Arslanagic was forced to leave the club after a scandalous incident with the police and threats against officers. And then there's the promising forward Ariat Piol, who is heading to conquer the MLS - the 20-year-old striker has scored 4 goals in 11 matches this season.
In the last match, Mila Sterjovski's team lost at home to Wellington (1:2), although they looked very good in the game. The statistics speak for themselves - 30 shots on goal, 9 of them on target with an xG score of 2.84. But the implementation failed. However, the attacking potential of the team is still impressive - in the last 5 matches, MacArthur has consistently participated in scoring extravaganzas, where at least 3 goals have been scored.
Jed Drew and Valerie Germain lead the team's goalscoring list with 6 goals each. And if we add to this that in 14 of the last 20 home matches, the Bulls played on the "top", then it becomes obvious that attacking football is in this team's blood.
Melbourne City
The "townspeople" got a painful slap in the face in the last round, losing heavily to Oakland (0:3). This result ended the team's impressive 7-match unbeaten streak. At the same time, Aurelio Vidmar's team had possession of the ball 59% of the playing time, but managed to land only 2 shots on target. However, there is also positive news - two powerful attacking players are returning to the ranks at once.
Matthew Leckie, who was injured on November 10, already played 20 minutes in the last match and is ready to get more playing time. And then there's Marco Tilio, who has recovered from injury - the talented winger has not been on the field since Round 3. Their return should seriously strengthen City's already formidable attack.
On the road, the "townspeople" are playing well this season - 4 wins, 2 draws and only 1 defeat with 13 goals scored in 7 matches. At the same time, the team is among the top three in the championship, having one of the best goals scored (21 goals in 13 games).
Prediction
In this match, everything is in favor of productive football. The Bulls have produced real scoring performances in the last 5 meetings - at least 3 goals were scored in all games. And this is not surprising, given the attacking style of the team and the problems in defense after Arslanagic's departure.
City, on the other hand, are getting serious reinforcements in the person of Leckie and Tilio, which should give a new impetus to the already impressive attack of the guests. In addition, in the last face-to-face meeting at this stadium, the "townspeople" lost (0:2), so the desire to rehabilitate should spur the wards of Vidmar.
The statistics of face-to-face meetings also speak in favor of horse football - in 6 of the last 10 face-to-face matches, the teams scored more than 2 goals between the two. And if we add to this that MacArthur averages more than 15 shots per match at home, and City scores regularly on the road, then the coefficient is 1.75 per TB(2.5) It looks very attractive.
Moreover, both teams are in the leading group in terms of the number of TB matches (2.5) - MacArthur ranks 2nd in the tournament in this indicator (11 out of 14 matches). And given the current defensive problems of both teams, a scoring extravaganza in this match looks more than likely.
