Newcastle Jets vs Wellington Phoenix Betting Tips & Predictions

Newcastle Jets are having a relatively good spell at the moment after their dreadful run of ten games without a league win. They have won twice in their last five outings and picked up valuable points against league leaders Brisbane Roar and challengers Melbourne City in their last two matches. This has lifted them above Wellington Phoenix in the A-League, and another win on Saturday could see them close the gap on Perth Glory above them.

Wellington Phoenix managed a thrilling 5-2 win over the drastically out of form Central Coast Mariners on Sunday to end their nine match winless streak, and a win on Saturday would see them leapfrog Newcastle Jets and move into 8^th. But the fact they have only avoided defeat four times on the road this season can’t be ignored.

Reasons for Betting Tips

Newcastle Jets may not be the highest scoring side in the A-League, but they seem to have turned a corner recently. They have picked up points and scored multiple goals against good teams such as Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City as well as beating Wellington Phoenix 3-1 back in the middle of January. Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City have much better defensive records than Wellington Phoenix, so I’m expecting Newcastle Jets to put a few in the back of the net on Saturday.

Wellington Phoenix have conceded over three goals per away game so far this season, and in their last five outings they have lost four times and conceded 12 goals, home games included. Their recent away record paints an even bleaker picture, with four of their last five games seeing them concede three goals and five defeats from their last six outings on the road.

This makes a high scoring game look almost inevitable considering the hosts have upped their game recently, and a 3-1 victory for Newcastle Jets looks even better when you see the excellent 16/1 odds.

Recent Form

Newcastle Jets: DWLLW

Wellington Phoenix: WLLLL

Head-to-Head

Newcastle Jets have had the better of Wellington Phoenix in both of their meetings so far this season, beating them 3-1 at home and 2-1 in Wellington to make it three games unbeaten for the hosts on Saturday. Before that Wellington Phoenix had won two in a row though, so their recent record stands at two wins apiece and a draw, making for a fairly well matched contest.

Statistics

82% of Wellington Phoenix’ away matches so far this season have ended with three or more goals scored, largely because of their completely inept defence conceding an average of 3.27 goals per away day. Newcastle Jets have managed to score eight goals in their last five games against much better defensive outfits than the visitors on Saturday.

Team News

Newcastle have no fresh injury concerns, with the only ruled out player being long term injury problem Labinot Haliti, who has a long term knee injury.

Key attacker Roy Krishna has been ruled out for Wellington Phoenix due to his serious ankle injury along with midfielders Vince Lia and Alex Rufer.