Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle Jets Prediction: Taylor on target again at AAMI Park

The final game of the regular 2024/25 Australian A-League Men's season takes place at AAMI Park on Sunday (08:00, TNT Sports 3), as Melbourne Victory (fifth) host Newcastle Jets (ninth), with neither side able to improve their position in the table.

Below are my Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle Jets predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Melbourne Victory head coach Arthur Diles has a fully fit squad to choose from this weekend.

Clarismario Santos Rodrigues and Adama Traore have both been named in Diles' extended squad, which will be whittled down to 18 names on matchday.

Football Odds

Victory beat Macarthur 2-1 at Campbelltown Stadium last time out, taking a two-goal lead into half-time and only conceding in the 69th minute, so Diles could elect to name an unchanged starting XI at AAMI Park.

Oscar Fryer (knee), Ben van Dorssen and Jacob Dowse (both unspecified) are unavailable for Newcastle Jets' season finale, while Alex Nunes, Will Dobson, Jordan Baylis and Garang Arou have all been left out of Rob Stanton's last-ever extended squad ahead of his exit from the club.

Wellisoll and Justin Vidic could both be involved on Sunday, though, after being listed by Stanton.

The Jets lost 1-0 at home to Western Sydney Wanderers last time out, and the likes of Lachlan Bayliss, Dane Ingham and Ben Gibson will be hoping to earn promotions from the bench this weekend.

Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle Jets Odds

Melbourne Victory lost the reverse fixture 3-0 at McDonald Jones Stadium, but Diles' side are heavy favourites to claim all three points here, with odds of 2/5 implying a 71.4% probability. The visitors, meanwhile, can be backed at 5/1, or a 16.7% chance, to do the double over their opponents.

The draw is priced at 18/5, both teams to score at 1/2, and ove 2.5 total goals at 1/3.

The first seven names in the anytime goalscorer market come from the home side, with Bruno Fornaroli (9/10) leading the way, while Lachlan Rose (21/10) is first up for the Jets.

Anytime Goalscorer - Clayton Taylor (NEW) @ 3/1

Jets winger Clayton Taylor looks decent value at 3/1 to get on the scoresheet at AAMI Park this weekend.

The 21-year-old, who scored seven goals in 25 ALM appearances last season, is on six in 25 games this term, so he only needs one more to match his 2023/24 tally.

His latest strike came in the 6-0 F3 derby annihilation of Central Coast Mariners on April 12, and all six of his goals this season have come this calendar year.

One of his efforts was in the reverse meeting with Victory as he scored a goal between one from Kosta Grozos and another from Rose.

Victory are, statistically, one of Taylor's favourite opponents to face, as he has scored three goals in four head-to-heads - only against Brisbane Roar (also three, in five games) has he struck as many times.

At AAMI Park last season, Taylor bagged a brace in a 5-3 defeat for the Jets, proving that he doesn't need his own team to be on song for him to fire.

First Half Total Goals - Under 1.5 @ 4/5

There have only been 35 goals scored in 25 first halves involving Victory this season - only Wellington Phoenix (31) and Melbourne City (33) have seen fewer scored before half-time.

At home, it's just 16 in 12, averaging 1.3 goals per game.

The Jets, meanwhile, have only witnessed 17 first-half goals on their travels this season, averaging 1.4 per game, and things may take a while to get going at AAMI Park on Sunday.

Offers

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