Melbourne Victory is the early favourite to win the 2016/17 A-League crown, but punters prefer cross-town rival Melbourne City.
- Melbourne Victory start as A-League title favourites, but City is the best backed.
- Brisbane Roar start favourite for Friday night’s season opener against Victory.
The A-League kicks off on Friday night with Brisbane Roar hosting Melbourne Victory. The Roar start as the $2.40 favourite for the match but more punters are backing Victory at $2.75.
Despite being the outsider for the season opener, the Victory ($5.00) heads outright A-League betting. Around 20% of the money is backing the Victory to win the title, but Melbourne City has attracted more support from punters with 30% of the money backing them to win a maiden title.
Perth Glory ($6.00) is the next best backed side in title betting with 15% of the total money wagered, followed by Sydney FC ($6.50) with 10% of the money.
In this weekend’s other matches, Melbourne City start as the $2.20 favourite against Wellington Phoenix ($3.00), with more than 80% of punters backing City to win.
The Western Sydney Wanderers ($2.90) have attracted around 55% of the early money ahead of its local derby against Sydney FC ($2.30) despite starting as the outsider, while more than 90% of punters are backing Perth Glory ($1.50) to defeat Central Coast ($5.50).
Titleholder Adelaide United is expected to get off to a winning start against Newcastle, starting as the $2.00 favourite ahead of the Jets at $3.40.
“Melbourne appears to have a grip on the A-League according to punters, with Victory and City jointly attracting 50% of the money to win this season’s crown. Victory start the season as title favourites, but more punters are backing City to claim the prize with star recruit Tim Cahill now firmly on board,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Ben Bulmer.
“Despite starting the season a title favourites, Melbourne Victory is the outsider for its season opener against Brisbane Roar on Friday night, but plenty of punters reckon they can get the job done at odds of $2.75.”
Markets courtesy of sportsbet.com.au
2016-17 A-League winner
$5.00 Melbourne Victory
$6.00 Melbourne City
$6.00 Perth Glory
$6.50 Sydney FC
$8.00 Brisbane Roar
$9.00 Western Sydney Wanderers
$10 Adelaide United
$13 Wellington Phoenix
$26 Newcastle Jets
$34 Central Coast Mariners
2016-17 A-League minor premiership
$4.33 Melbourne Victory
$5.50 Melbourne City
$5.50 Perth Glory
$6.00 Sydney FC
$8.00 Brisbane Roar
$8.50 Western Sydney Wanderers
$13 Adelaide United
$15 Wellington Phoenix
$34 Newcastle Jets
$41 Central Coast Mariners
A-League Round 1 –
Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory
$2.40 Brisbane Roar
$3.40 Draw
$2.75 Melbourne Victory
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City
$3.00 Wellington Phoenix
$3.50 Draw
$2.20 Melbourne City
Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC
$2.30 Western Sydney Wanderers
$3.40 Draw
$2.90 Sydney FC
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
$1.50 Perth Glory
$4.33 Draw
$5.50 Central Coast Mariners
Newcastle Jets v Adelaide United
$3.40 Newcastle Jets
$3.50 Draw
$2.00 Adelaide United