Macarthur vs Brisbane Roar Prediction: Sawyer to unsettle Herrington in Sydney

After eight rounds of fixtures in the 2025/26 Australian A-League Men's, I'm +10.8% in my tipping, with gamweek eight proving to be the sixth profitable week. I'll be looking to make it seven in nine this weekend before signing off for the year.

First up on Friday (07:00 GMT, TNT Sports 2), facing off at Campbelltown Stadium, are Macarthur FC and Brisbane Roar. Below are my Macarthur vs Brisbane Roar predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Team News

Veteran defender Damien Da Silva, who has missed Macarthur's last five games due to injury, is back fit for Friday, but Chris Ikonimidis and Sebastia Krslovic (both unspecified) remain sidelined.

Football Odds

As for Brisbane Roar, Marcus Ferkranus, Nathan Amanatidis (both quad), Milorad Stajic (leg) and Samuel Klein (concussion) are unavailable for selection.

Macarthur vs Brisbane Roar Odds

The last two head-to-heads at Campbelltown Stadium have ended in a stalemate, including last season's corresponding fixture, which was an eight-goal thriller (4-4) in November 2024.

You can back another draw between the two teams on Friday at 11/5, with Macarthur priced at 7/5 to claim all three points, implying a 41.7% probability of success, while Brisbane Roar are 13/8, or a 38.1% chance, to triumph on this ground for the first time since their first-ever visit there in April 2021 (1-2).

Betfred are offering a couple of Price Boosts, including 2+ Goals in Both Halves, 4+ Corners in Both Halves & 10+ Booking Pts in Both Halves at 14/1 (was 11/1).

Both Teams To Score - No @ 11/10

Brisbane Roar and Macarthur (both 11) have been involved in the fewest goals this season, albeit the former have played a game more.

The Roar have scored eight and conceded three in eight matches, averaging 1.38 goals per game. Unsurprisingly, Michael Valkanis' side have seen BTTS-No land in 75% (six) of their fixtures so far, including the last three.

Today's Football Fixtures

Macarthur have seen BTTS-Yes land in an even higher percentage (71%) of their games, with five of their seven going that way, the same as Melbourne City.

The Bulls' last four ALM matches have seen at least one team fail to score, with their most recent, a 0-0 draw at home to Melbourne Victory on December 5, ending in a goalless stalemate.

So, we have the league's lowest scorers, Macarthur (four goals), against the league's meanest defence, Brisbane (three goals conceded). That doesn't scream goals, to me.

We can get under 2.5 goals at 4/5, but there's more bang for your buck with BTTS-No at 11/10, so that looks like the best bet here.

Player to Receive a Card - Lucas Herrington (BRI) @ 7/2

In October's reverse fixture, Macarthur's 6ft5in striker, Harrison Sawyer, was fouled twice in his 65 minutes on the pitch.

The 28-year-old was upended once by a midfielder, Stajic, and once by a centre-back, Dimitrios Valkanis, who was shown a second yellow card, and therefore a red, for his challenge on the Bulls forward.

Valkanis (3/1), who has been shown three yellows and one red in six appearances this season, could be an attractive option again in the Player to Receive a Card market on Friday, but with Lucas Herrington and Austin Ludwik keeping out Western Sydney Wanderers last week, while he was out of the squad, you wonder whether his dad, Michael, will keep the same four-man back line for this trip to Sydney.

He could also revert to the three-man defence, comprising Valkanis, Ludwik and Herrington, which kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win at Adelaide United on December 7.

While the starting spots of Ludwik and Valkanis are uncertain, Herrington, who has started the last seven games after coming off the bench at the hour mark of October's victory over Macarthur, is more certain of his position.

The 18-year-old only made his senior debut last season, making 17 ALM appearances (15 starts) and picking up two yellows.

So far this term, Herrington has only been booked once, in a goalless draw with Melbourne City on October 31, although he has committed a foul in his last three games.

The teenager's resolve could be tested on Friday by Sawyer, who is averaging 1.9 fouls won per game, despite two of his seven competition appearances coming from the bench.

Sawyer has already tempted a couple of centre-backs, Bart Vriends (Adelaide United) and Anthony Pantazopoulos (Western Sydney Wanderers), into making yellow-card challenges on him this season, while another couple of central defenders, Panagiotis Kikianis (Adelaide United) and Scott Wootton (Perth Glory), have been booked for other offences.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (After GW8)

 P/L: +10.8%