Australia vs New Zealand Predictions

• Australia have not lost as pre-match favourites since January 2019 (W14, D3).
• New Zealand have had just one training session as a complete squad during the week.
• The visitors have just one win from their last 22 meetings against current top 100-ranked nations.

Arnold is looking to the future

Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has opted to give youth a chance with his latest international squad selection. Just 14 of the 31 players involved have received 10 caps or more and it looks like he has one eye on the future. Australia have faced New Zealand six times this millennium and have emerged victorious in all of them by an aggregate of 13-1. Arnold will still likely utilise some household names in the shape of Aaron Mooy and captain Mat Ryan.

The visitors will be in action for the first time since a devastating loss to Costa Rica that saw them defeated in a World Cup qualifier. This could also potentially be the penultimate match for manager Danny Hay as his contract expires at the end of October. Hay voiced his concerns with the FA and their decision not to play against anyone for six months following this two-legged affair. Squad-wise, New Zealand will be without a number of key players here.

Australia to make light work of the All Whites

All is not right in the New Zealand camp. Their manager is not happy, they have trained just once as a squad recently and they face Australia who they haven’t managed to beat since 1989. Even a youthful-looking Australia outfit should get the better of their opponents here and can cover a -1 Asian handicap.