Macarthur vs Melbourne City Prediction: Mitch to stitch City up for fifth time

Macarthur FC started 2026 in fine fashion, beating Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 away from home on New Year's Day, but the Bulls have failed to win any of their last three games (D2, L1) in the Australian A-League Men's. On Saturday (08:35 GMT, TNT Sports 5), they take on a side, Melbourne City, with an identical record after 14 rounds of fixtures, with both clubs winning five, drawing five and losing four times.

Below are my Macarthur vs Melbourne City predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this weekend's meeting at Campbelltown Stadium.

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Team News

Ji Dong-won, Harry Politidis (both ankle), Henrique Oliveira and Bernardo Oliveira (both unspecified) are injured for Macarthur, whose head coach, Mile Sterjovski, has named Zane Helweh in his extended squad.

Mitch Duke is pushing for his full Bulls bow after making his debut as a second-half substitute last Sunday, setting up Luke Vickery’s goal within six minutes of his introduction.

Football Odds

As for Aurelio Vidmar’s Melbourne City, Andrew Nabbout (calf) and Emin Durakovic (concussion) have joined Mathew Leckie (hip), Elbasan Rashani (hamstring), Dakota Ochsenham and Kavian Rahmani (both knee) in the treatment room.

Samuel Souprayen and Takeshi Kanamori are both back from injury, though, while new loan signing Daniel Arzani, who made his ALM debut for City in 2016, could feature on Saturday.

Macarthur vs Melbourne City Odds

Macarthur, who won last season's corresponding fixture 1-0, almost a year to the day (January 25), are 21/10 underdogs on Saturday, implying a 32.3% probability of success.

Melbourne City, meanwhile, are 11/10, or a 47.6% chance, to claim a first victory at Campbelltown Stadium since March 2022, with the draw, a winning selection in last month's reverse meeting, offered at 9/4.

Betfred are offering several Price Boosts, including Both Teams to Score, Both Teams 3+ Corners & Both Teams 2+ Cards at 5/1 (was 4/1).

Anytime Goalscorer - Mitch Duke (MAC) @ 15/8

The mid-season signing of Duke was seen as something of a coup for Macarthur, who are now blessed with talent in the attacking third.

Duke made his Bulls debut last weekend and made an immediate impact, grabbing an assist just minutes after coming off the bench.

Today's Football Fixtures

The 35-year-old, who scored 14 goals in 26 appearances during his last full ALM campaign (2019/20), netting six in 17 during a half-season stay in 2020/21, also recorded four shots against the Mariners last Sunday, seeing a header saved in the 80th minute.

He could cause City all sorts of problems this weekend, and should he start, 15/8 looks like a nice price for him to score anytime.

Double Chance & Both Teams To Score - Macarthur or Draw & Yes @ 8/5

Macarthur have only picked up two points from the last nine on offer, but after losing three of their first six league games this season, the Bulls have now suffered just one defeat in their last eight.

Sterjovski's side have scored at least once in six of their last seven matches, with Macarthur or Draw & Yes in the Double Chance & BTTS market a winning selection in five of those (seven for the season).

Melbourne City have seen BTTS-Yes land in just 36% (five) of their 14 ALM outings this term, but it was a winner in last week's victory over Perth Glory and last month's head-to-head with Macarthur at AAMI Park.

While neither side's defence is particularly porous, both Macarthur and Melbourne City have several potent forwards who will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet this weekend, so BTTS-Yes is a confident play.

I'm adding Macarthur or Draw, too, as the Bulls have lost just two of their seven home games (W2, D3), while City have only won two of their six away matches (D3, L1) and have emerged victorious just once from five trips to Campbelltown Stadium (D2, L2).

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (After GW13)

 P/L: +7.9%