Central Coast Mariners vs Western Sydney Wanderers Prediction: we expect a tough game

In the Australian Football League on Saturday, the Central Coast Mariners will play host to Western Sydney Wanderers at the Industree Group Stadium.

Whoever finishes in second place, behind Melbourne City, will be determined by the outcome of the match between the two teams that have historically competed against each other. The Central Coast are currently in second place, but Western Sydney is only two points behind. The home team lost their most recent game in the league after having won their previous three matches in a row. Betting tips and odds are provided below.

The Central Coast Mariners are in a strong position heading into the penultimate round of the season's playoffs.

With 27 goals scored, three more than league leaders Melbourne City, Montgomery's squad also has the most in the Australian football top division.

The Yellow & Navy have made the Central Coast Stadium a fortress throughout the 2022-23 A-League campaign, accumulating an uncontested 15 points out of a possible 24. They won a hat trick of matches before losing 2-1 to Wellington Phoenix at Sky Stadium on Sunday.

After going winless in their previous four home league matches dating back to the middle of December, the Central Coast Mariners defeated Macarthur on January 13 thanks to goals from Marco Tulio and leading scorer Jason Cummings in the first 27 minutes of the game.

Western Sydney Wanderers haven't tasted victory on the road in the league since December 10, so they have a tall order ahead of them early on Saturday morning as they try to win their first game in five attempts.

Marko Rudan's squad has had a terrible stretch of form on the road in 2022–23 A-League season, but they still have the third-best away record in the competition.

The Western Sydney Wanderers are currently two points behind Saturday's hosts, the Central Coast Mariners, after a pointless draw with the Newcastle Jets on January 22 at the Newcastle International Sports Centre.

The New South Wales club did, however, record a noteworthy share of the spoils with the league-leading Melbourne City on January 15.

In their last five meetings against Sydney, Central Coast has a record of two wins, one draw, and two losses. In their previous five matches against Sydney at their own stadium, the hosts have posted a record of two wins, one draw, and two defeats.

In their most recent five home games across all competitions, Central Coast has won four of them while only losing once.

In their past five matches played away from home, Sydney has had two draws and three losses. In their most recent five matches, Central Coast have earned three victories and suffered two defeats, whereas Western Sydney have earned one victory, shared three draws, and suffered one defeat during the same time period.