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Melbourne City will entertain Western United at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in their A-League campaign opener on Saturday.
The hosts are the reigning Premiers and finished with 55 points from 26 league games last season. The visitors finished seventh in the league table during the regular season, missing out on the final series by just three points.
Both teams played in the knockout stage of the Australia Cup that concluded last month. Interestingly, both of them were eliminated by eventual champions Sydney FC. The hosts suffered a 2-1 loss in the semi-finals while the visitors fell to a 3-0 loss in the quarter-finals.
Melbourne played in the AFC Champions League group stage earlier this month, recording a 2-1 away win over Zhejiang.
Melbourne City vs Western United Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have squared off 13 times in the A-League thus far since 2019. As expected, the hosts have the upper hand in these meetings and have eight wins to their name. Just one meeting between them has ended in a draw and the visitors have four wins to their name.
- They met in the campaign opener last season as well, with Melbourne City recording a 2-1 win. They went on to record wins in their following two league meetings as well.
- Interestingly, all six wins meetings between them at Saturday's venue have produced conclusive results, with four wins for the hosts and two wins for Western United.
- The visitors have suffered just one defeat in their last six away games in the A-League.
- Melbourne went unbeaten at home in the A-League last season, recording 11 wins in 14 games.
- Four of the last five meetings between them have produced over 2.5 goals, with the hosts outscoring the visitors 11-6 in these games.
Melbourne City vs Western United Prediction
City returned to winning ways after two games, recording a 2-1 win in the Champions League over Zhejiang before the international break. They have won their three league meetings against the visitors last season with an aggregate score of 9-2 and are strong favorites.
Head coach Rado Vidošić will be without the services of Andrew Nabbout, who is sidelined for the season with an ACL injury. Mathew Leckie is struggling with a knee injury and the match comes too soon for him. On-loan winger Léo Natel is expected to make his debut for the club.
The visitors will play their first match in over a month, so will look to leave a good account of themselves. They have come up second-best against the hosts in recent games. They have named Josh Risdon as the new captain for the season.
The hosts have the upper hand in league meetings against the visitors and, considering their home advantage, we back them to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Melbourne City 2-1 Western United
Melbourne City vs Western United Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Melbourne City to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the first half - Yes
Tip 4: Jamie Maclaren to score or assist any time - Yes
