Melbourne City vs Newcastle Jets Predictions

• Melbourne City have hit a rough patch, losing two of their last five games.
• Newcastle Jets are in an awful run of form, losing five of their last six and picking up just one point out of a possible 18.
• Melbourne City have averaged 2.07 goals per game, one of only three teams to average more than two goals a game this season. Their defensive output is terrible, though, averaging 1.69 goals per game, the third-worst in the league.
• Newcastle Jets are the lowest scorers in the league with just 12 goals in 12 games, while they also have the worst defensive record, conceding 27 in 12, an average of 2.25 goals per game.
• Melbourne City matches have enjoyed an average of 3.8 goals per game this season. Newcastle Jets games have seen 3.3 goals per game.

Can Melbourne City close the gap on Sydney?

Melbourne City have a golden opportunity to close the gap on league leaders, Sydney FC, this weekend, with the current champions having a bye week. Melbourne will be glad the side they face are the club with the worst form, Newcastle Jets. City have scored 11 goals in their last five games but have only won twice, increasing the gap to Sydney to 11 points.

Melbourne City have struggled in recent weeks but their games have certainly been entertaining this season, with the 2.5 goalline being beaten in 12 of their 13 games and the 3.5 goalline being beaten in seven of those. City have been poor defensively, though, keeping a clean sheet in just two games this season.

Newcastle Jets look doomed; can a win spark them into life?

Newcastle Jets already look like they want to put this season behind them as they currently sit bottom of the league with no wins in their last six matches. They are four points behind The Mariners in 10th and any play-off hopes already look beyond them. The side have only won twice this season and things look desperate with the team still lacking a permanent head coach following the sacking of Ernie Merrick two weeks ago.

Newcastle have struggled both in attack and defence this season, scoring just 12 goals and conceding 27 as teams regularly beat them with ease. They’ve conceded three or more goals in a third of their matches this season and have kept just two clean sheets. Their games have seen an average of 3.3 goals per game this season but their output has been just one per game on average.

A foregone conclusion or can Newcastle spring a surprise?

This match looks beyond Newcastle Jets before it even kicks off with free-scoring Melbourne City massive favourites. While we believe the home side should win this with relative ease, the value looks to be in the goals market where the 3.5 goalline is set a little too high, especially when you consider it’s been beaten in 11 of the 25 games featuring either of these sides so far this term.

Melbourne City should be the easy victors here and close the gap to Sydney to eight points, with plenty of the season to come. We’re backing them to win this game 3-1, a scoreline that shows the dominance they should enjoy but also highlights the frailties in their defence, which has conceded 22 goals in just 13 games this season.