Friday’s first A-League Round 8 match is between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory. The opening kick-off is set to commence at 7:30PM with the game to be played at Bluetongue Stadium. The home team Central Coast Mariners are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory.
Round: Round 8, Friday 29.11.2013 7:30PM
Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium
Head to head: Played: 27, Wins: Mariners 11, Victory 9, Draws: 7
Previous encounter: Mariners 1-0 Victory, April 14 2013
Central Coast Mariners $2.00 vs Melbourne Victory $3.60 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match
Central Coast Mariners $2.00 vs Melbourne Victory $3.50 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison:
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| Central Coast Mariners | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Draw | 3.50 | 3.35 | 3.40 | 3.35 | 3.50 | 3.40 |
| Melbourne Victory | 3.60 | 3.75 | 3.50 | 3.75 | 3.60 | 3.50 |
Teams:
Central Coast Mariners:
1.Justin PASFIELD (go), 2.Daniel MCBREEN, 3.Joshua ROSE, 4.Marcel SEIP, 5.Zachary ANDERSON, 6.Brent GRIFFITHS, 7.John HUTCHINSON (C), 8.Nick MONTGOMERY, 9.Mitchell DUKE, 10.Marcos FLORES, 11.Nick FITZGERALD, 12.Liam REDDY (go), 14.Michael MCGLINCHEY, 15.Storm ROUX, 16.Trent SAINSBURY, 17.Anthony CACERES, 19.Matt SIMON, 21.Mile STERJOVSKI ***two to be omitted***
Ins: 5. Zachary ANDERSON, 11. Nick FITZGERALD (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 22. Tom SLATER (back – 2 weeks)
Melbourne Victory:
1.Nathan COE (go), 2.Pablo CONTRERAS, 3.Adama TRAORE, 4.Nick ANSELL, 5.Mark MILLIGAN, 7.Gui FINKLER, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Connor PAIN, 13.Andrew NABBOUT.14.James TROISI, 15.Mitch NICHOLS, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 17.Jimmy JEGGO, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (go), 24.Scott GALLOWAY, 25.Jason GERIA **One to be omitted**
Ins: 17. Jimmy JEGGO, 13. Andrew NABBOUT, 25. Jason GERIA (all promoted)
Outs: 6. Leigh BROXHAM (suspended – 1 week), 23. Adrian LEIJER (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: nil
Preview:
Form:
Past five matches:
Mariners: WLDWD
Victory: WLLWW
The Game:
These Friday night free-to-air games just keep getting better. Last week we had the big first-versus-second showdown between Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney and it didn’t disappoint. Next up is the Mariners, in their first home game under new head coach Phil Moss, riding high after a last-gasp win away to Perth Glory. They welcome Melbourne Victory to Gosford fresh from a convincing 3-0 triumph at home Adelaide despite playing with 10 men for the entire second half of that game.
Victory have plenty of unfinished business at Bluetongue – they were on the wrong end of a 6-2 thrashing there last season, and saw their finals challenge end at the same venue in the semi-finals later in the campaign. A trip to tackle the champions, who are still warming to their title defence, will be a major test of Victory’s credentials under their own rookie boss Kevin Muscat.
The big issue:
Mariners – Does Phil Moss have what it takes to continue the impressive work done by Graham Arnold? He made a strong start in the top job last weekend, altering the Mariners’ travel plans and subsequently ending their sequence of negative results out west. But plenty of challenges remain, and we are set to discover just how much the ability of the tiny club to punch far above their weight was down to Arnold. Should the credit be spread more evenly across the club? The visit of Victory can teach us more about what to expect from the champions under their new management.
Victory – Do the Victory have a problem away from home? The navy blue and whites are yet to win on the road this season, coming from 2-0 down to draw in Adelaide, before suffering successive defeats in the Harbour City to Sydney FC and the Wanderers. We know they’ve endured an unhappy time in Gosford in recent seasons. This week’s game represents an opportunity to end that run and make a statement of intent to the rest of the competition.
The game breaker:
Marcos Flores – The Argentine playmaker underwhelmed at Victory after being unveiled to great fanfare prior to the 2012-13 campaign. His rehabilitation with the Mariners has been promising enough to date, but it remains to be seen if he can fully recapture the magic that set the league alight during his time with Adelaide in 2010-11. Surely the visit of the club which played him out of position and then tossed him aside is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his true worth?
Source: www.footballaustralia.com.au
