Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets: We’re betting on the Mariners

In the next round of the Australian A-League, Central Coast Mariners will face Newcastle Jets. The Mariners are the big favourites, which is hard to argue with, given the high motivation of the home team. It’s also worth paying attention to the fact that the Mariners have become a rather tough opponent for Newcastle in recent times.

In their last three games, the Mariners have won two matches, against Newcastle away and Macarthur, also away. The only setback in this period came in an away game against Melbourne City, winners of the A-League regular season. Before the upcoming meeting, Central Coast Mariners are in the third position in the peloton of the Australian elite. They have 39 points, the same as Macarthur, who beat Western United 2-1. Central Coast Mariners have the 8th best home record in the division with five wins, three draws and three losses, and a 17-17 goal difference.

The only thing that can motivate Newcastle Jets for the remaining rounds is the desire to finish the Australian Championship in a position other than the last place. At the moment, Newcastle Jets are 12th in the league table, 14 points behind Melbourne Victory by four points. However, Newcastle have two more games in hand, which means the Jets could potentially still be ahead of Melbourne Victory. Newcastle’s away record is not the weakest. In 11 away games, the Jets have won twice, six defeats and three draws, with a goal difference of 10-16.

Macarthur beat Western United quite predictably on Monday, now it’s up to Central Coast Mariners to beat their arch-rivals, one of the division’s underdogs this season. Central Coast Mariners were stronger than Newcastle away not too long ago, namely in mid-May. We believe that the Mariners can beat the Jets on home ground as well. However, we are not sure that Newcastle will be able to score. Here are the odds for this game: Handicap 1 (-1) for 2.04, Total Under 3.0 for 1.66, W1+Total Under 4.5 for 1.39.