Melbourne City vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima Prediction: I expect both teams to score

Melbourne City vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima Prediction and Odds on 16 September 2025

The Asia AFC Champions League Phase Round 1 matchup will host Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima at AAMI Park Stadium. Melbourne City will aim to secure a win on their home soil, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima will aim to prevent a defeat on the road. Let’s analyse previous results, overall performance, recent forms, and my betting opinion on how to place your bets.

Melbourne City: Forms and Statistics

Melbourne City are the reigning Australian champions. Last season, Aurelio Vidmar's team advanced to the A-League final, where they defeated Melbourne Victory 1-0 in a rivalry match. This was only the club's second league triumph, following the first in 2021. However, there is little optimism about Melbourne City's prospects this season. Aurelio Vidmar's side made no improvements over the offseason, losing numerous key players. In July, the Australian champions were eliminated from the national cup by amateur side APIA Leichhardt in a shocking 0-2 defeat. In this match, Melbourne City will aim to secure a win on their home soil and bounce back to winning ways.

Melbourne City Lineups

🔖 Melbourne City Confirmed lineup (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Jamie Young

Defender players: Scott Jamieson, Nuno Reis, Curtis Good, Taras Gomulka

Midfielder players: Aiden O'Neill, Josh Brillante, Marco Tilio

Attacking players: Mathew Leckie, Andrew Nabbout, Jamie Maclaren

⛔️ Unavailable: No Record

👤 Head Coach: Aurelio Vidmar

Sanfrecce Hiroshima: Forms and Statistics

Sanfrecce Hiroshima finished as runners-up in the previous J-League season. The "Purples" had led the table for a long time, and it seemed unimaginable that they would lose the crown. However, they only scored three points in their final five matches, finishing four points behind Vissel Kobe. This season, 30 rounds of the J-League have now been played, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima is presently sixth with 31 points. However, the standings are so tight that they are only four points behind the leaders Kyoto. Sanfrecce Hiroshima's most recent match was a 1-1 draw with Kyoto, which came after another 1-1 draw with Cerezo Osaka. Going into this match on the road, Sanfrecce Hiroshima will aim to secure a win on the road to snap their winless streak of two games on the road.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Lineups

🔖 Sanfrecce Hiroshima predicted lineup (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Keisuke Osako

Defender players: Sho Sasaki, Hayato Araki, Tsukasa Shiotani, Shunki Higashi

Midfielder players: Yotaro Nakajima, Satoshi Tanaka, Shuto Nakano

Attacking players: Kosuke Kinoshita, Ryo Germain, Naoki Maeda

⛔️ Unavailable: No Record

👤 Head Coach: Skibbe M.

Melbourne City vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima: Head-to-Head Statistics

Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima will play for the first time.

Melbourne City vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima: Betting Tips & Odds

• In four of their last five games, Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima have taken more than 8 corners against their opponents. This option is provided on the Bet365 bookmaker website for odds of 1.83;
• In two or more of their last five games, Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima have had BTTS against their opponents. This option is provided on the Betway bookmaker website for odds of 1.61;
• In two or more of their last five games, Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima have had over 2.5 goals against their opponents. This option is provided on the 1XBet bookmaker website for odds of 1.72;
• In two or more of their last five games, Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima have had one goal at halftime against their opponents. This option is provided on the 1XBet bookmaker website for odds of 1.67;
• In two or more of their last five games, Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima have had draws at halftime against their opponents. This option is provided on the Bet365 bookmaker website for odds of 2.21;

Melbourne City vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima match Prediction 16 September 2025

Melbourne City and Sanfrecce Hiroshima will aim to secure a win in their opening matchup in the AFC Champions League Phase Round 1. Therefore, I expect both teams to find the net against one another, while I expect more than two goals to be recorded. However, even though the home team snapped their unbeaten streak of four in their last five games, I expect them to prevent a defeat in this match, while I expect them to secure a win or end in a draw.

Below are our predictions for this game.

Our match prediction: BTTS for a coefficient of 1.63 in the 1XBet bookmaker.

Our betting tip on the match: Over 2.5 goals for a coefficient of 1.72 in the Betway bookmaker.

Our final betting tip on the match: is 1X for a coefficient of 1.90 in the Bet365 bookmaker.