Adelaide United vs Macarthur Prediction: Reds can prolong play-offs dream with win at Coopers

It's been a pretty miserable campaign for Adelaide United but three-straight wins has them knocking on the door of the top six and dreaming of a play-off spot. The Reds can stake a huge claim for the finals with a win on Friday over Macarthur FC, who are seven points better off in fifth but have played a game more.

Friday's contest at Coopers Stadium will be shown in the UK live on TNT Sports 2 at 10:45, and you can find out all the latest team news and match odds for it by reading below, where you can also find our Adelaide United vs Macarthur prediction.

The hosts will line up in Adelaide knowing that a win will move them up two places into seventh, with the teams who would drop down - Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City - due to play on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

United do have a game in hand on all of those above them though, including sixth-placed Western Sydney Wanderers, which means that if they can win all of their remaining four matches, it will only take one slip-up for them to book their place in the quarter-finals of the play-offs.

Macarthur looked to be cruising to a top-six finish after a seven-game unbeaten run across January and February, but just two wins in their next seven - four of which have been defeats - has injected some jeopardy into their end of season run-in.

Team News

Josh Cavallo (quad) and Panagiotis Kikianis (hamstring) have missed multiple matches in the past month and both will miss out again on Friday, but Guiseppe Bovalina has returned to the Adelaide United squad after last featuring on March 15.

Macarthur are still without Bernardo Oliveira (Achilles tendon), Jake McGing (groin) and Kealey Adamson (ankle), while head coach Mile Sterjovski could make changes to his starting XI after two defeats on the bounce.

Jed Drew, Jake Hollman and Tommy Smith are the most likely additions to the side.

Match Odds

Adelaide United are 8/11 to record back-to-back wins at Coopers Stadium for just the second time this season. Those odds give the Reds an implied win probability of 57.9%, while the visitors can be backed at 13/5 - making them a 27.8% chance - to take all three points.

The draw is available at 3/1, both teams to score at 1/3 and over 3.5 goals at 8/11.

Adelaide United to win & over 3.5 goals @ 2/1

After four-straight defeats across February and March, the top six looked a long way off for Adelaide United. However, Carl Veart's side have shown tremendous resolve to give themselves an outside shot of the play-offs, but they will be aware of the importance on Friday, which acts as their last home game of the regular season.

Macarthur represent favourable opponents having lost both matches since the resumption of the A-League Men's after the international break, while the Bulls are also yet to taste victory at Coopers Stadium, losing their first three in Adelaide before taking a point in January's 1-1 draw there.

Adelaide United seem to be peaking at just the right time, while Macarthur appear to be tanking with just weeks left of the season. I see the hosts keeping up their form on Friday and giving themselves a fighting chance of a top-six finish heading into the second half of April.

A high-scoring game feels likely, too; the Reds have scored four goals in their last two wins (4-1 v Western United and 4-2 v Perth Glory) while the Bulls have shipped seven across their last two games (3-1 defeat to WSW and 4-2 loss v Western United).

Only Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets (both 13) have been involved in more matches with over 3.5 goals than Adelaide United (12) this season, and those two clubs have played one extra. Macarthur aren't far off the top either, with 11 of their 24 A-League Men's games seeing at least four goals scored.

Nestory Irankunda to score 2+ goals @ 15/2

Just like his club, Nestory Irankunda has been hitting all the right notes in recent weeks. The 18-year-old, who will join German giants Bayern Munich this summer, scored his first-ever professional hat-trick against Western United on March 29 and followed that performance up with a couple of assists in Perth.

That win at HBF Park also saw Irankunda complete a rare 90 minutes as the teenager appears to be starting to win the trust of Veart, who will be looking for him to continue his form until the end of the campaign.

Irankunda should be doubly fired up for Friday after being snubbed for the Olyroos squad that will compete in this month's AFC U-23 Asian Cup, which doubles as AFC Qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

That could spell trouble for Macarthur, who have shipped 11 goals across their last four matches.

Irankunda is 5/4 to score anytime at Coopers Stadium on Friday, but there is value to be had in backing him to bag a brace at 15/2.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.