Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Melbourne Victory knew quite some time ago that they were safe inside the Hyundai A-League playoff zone, and then when Sydney FC clinched the top spot in the Premiership race their lack of motivation brought about a period of poor form.

That continued last weekend as they played out a goalless draw at Western Sydney Wanderers to make it one win, one draw, and three defeats in their last five A-League matches. They remain 2nd in the table, seven points clear of Melbourne City below them but 17 points adrift of Sydney FC.

However, Melbourne Victory will know that a win on the final day of the regular season would boost confidence significantly ahead of the Championship round later this month, and that could mean the difference between winning and losing the biggest prize in Australian football.

Central Coast Mariners were surprisingly in the hunt for a playoff spot a couple of months ago, but their three match winning streak came to an abrupt end at home against Melbourne Victory in February. This was then followed by a draw and four straight defeats, putting them back to a familiar position at the bottom of the A-League table and out of the running for a top six spot.

They have managed to drag themselves off the bottom with a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets last weekend though, taking them to 8th in the table but still only a point above bottom of the table Jets.

Away from home they have won one, drawn one, and lost six of their last eight A-League games, conceding 17 goals in the process and scoring six at the other end. Melbourne Victory, meanwhile, have won nine, drawn one, and lost two of their last 12 home games, scoring 32 goals and conceding 15.

All of Melbourne Victory’s last eight home games have seen at least three goals scored, with all but one of them having both teams find the back of the net. Central Coast Mariners have scored in eight of their last 11 away games as well, so a high scoring game looks a good bet here. I’m backing Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score at 4/6 along with a 3-1 win for Melbourne Victory at 9/1 for my correct score predictions.