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Brisbane Roar will welcome Central Coast Mariners to the Suncorp Stadium in the A-League on Thursday.
The hosts suffered their first league defeat in five games on Friday, falling to a 2-1 away loss to Western United. Jay O'Shea opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 69th minute to give Brisbane the lead. Western United dug deep and scored twice after the 80th minute, including an injury-time winner to register a comeback win.
The visitors are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions, with three wins and draws apiece in that period. In their previous outing, Ángel Torres' second-half hat-trick helped them hold Melbourne City to a 3-3 draw.
The hosts are in fifth place in the league table with 14 points from eight games, trailing league leaders Wellington Phoenix by three points.
Brisbane Roar vs Central Coast Mariners Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have a long-standing rivalry and have squared off 67 times across all competitions since 2005. The hosts have the upper hand in these meetings with 36 wins. The visitors have 14 wins to their name and 17 games have ended in stalemates.
- They met in the reverse fixture in November, with the Roar recording a 2-1 away win. It was their first win against their southern rivals after suffering four consecutive defeats.
- Brisbane Roar are winless in their last three home meetings against the visitors, suffering two defeats. They have failed to score twice in that period as well.
- Central Coast Mariners have found their goalscoring boots this month, finding the back of the net 12 times in four games while conceding just five times.
- Roar are unbeaten at home in the A-League this season, recording two wins in three games.
Brisbane Roar vs Central Coast Mariners Prediction
The Roar have suffered just two defeats in the league this season, with one of them coming last week in their away meeting against Western United. They are unbeaten at home in the league this season, with two of their four wins coming on home turf.
They have just two wins in their last seven meetings against the visitors, with both coming in away games. They have lost just once in their last seven home games in the A-League, recording five wins.
The Mariners have seen an upturn in form recently and are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions. Interestingly, they are winless in their three away games in the A-League this season, failing to score twice in that period. They have won four of their last five meetings against the hosts and will be hopeful of a positive outing.
Considering the current goalscoring form of the two teams and the visitors' struggles in away games, the two teams are likely to settle for a draw.
Prediction: Brisbane Roar 2-2 Central Coast Mariners
Brisbane Roar vs Central Coast Mariners Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Nikola Mileusnic to score or assist any time - Yes
