Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
Melbourne City FC
Adelaide United
In the 28th round of the A-League, Melbourne City will host Adelaide United. The match is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, with kickoff at 11:35 AM Central European Time. I propose a bet on the winner of this match.
Melbourne City vs Adelaide United: facts and head-to-head
- Melbourne City is unbeaten in four consecutive matches: one draw and three wins.
- Adelaide United has failed to win away in six consecutive matches.
- In the last nine home matches, Melbourne lost only once.
- Melbourne boasts the second-best attack in the A-League: only 24 goals conceded.
- Adelaide scores at least 1.5 goals in 92% of their matches.
- Adelaide United has the second-best attack in the league with 53 goals. However, their defense is the worst, conceding 55 goals.
- Adelaide lost only 4% of matches where they did not score, compared to Melbourne's 21%.
- Melbourne wins more often with a clean sheet — 42% of matches compared to the opponent's 12%.
- In the previous meeting, Melbourne lost to Adelaide 0-1. In the last five head-to-head matches, City won only once, while United won three times.
Melbourne City vs Adelaide United: match preview
Melbourne City is currently in excellent form. The team is unbeaten at home for six consecutive matches and has lost only once in the last ten rounds. The "Citizens" have climbed to second place in the standings, with 44 points after 24 rounds. With only two matches remaining in the regular season, Melbourne leads the third place by three points. Reaching the top spot will be more challenging — the gap is six points, but I believe that's not as crucial now. The main goal is to stay in the top 2.
Adelaide United continues their fight for an A-League playoff spot. At the moment, the team has 37 points and is behind Sydney on tiebreakers. Moreover, Sydney has a game in hand. For Adelaide, this is the last match of the regular season, and they desperately need a win if they want to remain playoff contenders. Interestingly, United has a distinct profile: the second-most productive attack but the worst defense in the A-League. This instability explains why they are currently out of the playoff zone and need to fight for a spot.
Probable lineups
- Melbourne City: Beech, Trevin, Atkinson, Ferreira, Behich, Ugarkovich, Kuen, Lopane, Cohen, Tilio, Caputo
- Adelaide United: Vartuli, Kikianis, Vriends, Kitto, Alagic, Yull, Mauk, Pierias, Barnett, Jovanovic, Dukuli
Prediction
Both teams are still motivated — neither has resolved their tournament tasks yet. Melbourne's situation is more stable, but they are unlikely to want to lose at home and complicate their fight for second place. Adelaide is inconsistent, so my bet is on a home win with odds of 1.72.
