Adelaide United vs Melbourne City Prediction: Reds to return to winning ways at Coopers

Adelaide United suffered just a second defeat of the season last Saturday as Sydney FC thrashed the Reds 4-1 in the Emerald City. Head coach Carl Veart will be hoping for a big response from his side on Friday (08:35, TNT Sports 1) as Melbourne City provide the opposition at Coopers Stadium.

Below is my Adelaide United vs Melbourne City prediction, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this Australian A-League Men's match.

Team News

Adelaide United are boosted by the returns from injury of Ben Folami and Luke Duzel, while Ryan Tunnicliffe, Harry Crawford, Oscar Page and Amlani Tatu have all been named in Veart's extended squad.

James Delianov (groin), Javi Lopez (calf), Panashe Madanha (hamstring) and Max Vartuli (finger) all miss out for the Reds, who remain without Bailey O'Neil who is still in individual training as he recovers from a back injury. Jordan Elsey is closer to a return to action but the centre-back will first play with Adelaide United's NPL side on Thursday to increase his match fitness.

Meanwhile, Luka Jovanovic, Jonny Yull, Panagiotis Kikianis and Fabian Talladira are all on international duty and won't be available for selection this week.

Isaias Sanchez will replace Kikianis in central defence and Yull's spot in the starting XI is expected to be taken by Folami, while Josh Cavallo could earn a rare start at left-back in place of Talladira.

Football Odds

Like their hosts on Friday, Melbourne City's absentee list is a lengthy one, with Jimmy Jeggo (Achilles), Andreas Kuen (hamstring), Yonatan Cohen, Andrew Nabbout, Alessandro Lopane and Jayden Necovski (all knee) out injured and Medin Memeti on international duty.

Back-up goalkeeper Jamie Young, meanwhile, announced his retirement with immediate effect earlier this week, so 20-year-old shot-stopper James Nieuwenhuizen will sit on the bench as backup to Patrick Beach.

City boss Aurelio Vidmar is, though, boosted by the return to fitness of 19-year-old striker Max Caputo, who is yet to feature in the ALM this season.

Vidmar also revealed that Mathew Leckie and Marco Tilio, who both recently made their returns to action following lengthy spells on the sidelines, are in line for greater roles this week.

Adelaide United vs Melbourne City Odds

These sides are yet to face off against each other this season and in 2023/24 the six points on offer were shared as Melbourne City responded to a 6-0 thrashing at Coopers in October 2023 by beating Vidmar's charges 1-0 at AAMI Park in January 2024.

Adelaide have won their last two home games against City and are 19/20 to return to winning ways on Friday following two games without a victory, the first of which they drew 2-2 with Auckland FC at home. Those odds give the Reds an implied win probability of 51.3%, while the visitors are 23/10, or a 30.3% chance, to triumph for the first time since January 11 having lost 3-0 at Auckland and 1-0 at Macarthur FC in the last couple of weeks.

The draw is priced at 5/2, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 8/15.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Adelaide United & Yes @ 9/4

The absences on both sides make Friday's game a difficult one to call, but Adelaide have been flying this season and I'm classing last weekend's loss as merely a minor setback against a team, Sydney FC, packed with attacking talent.

Indeed, the Reds haven't been at their best on home soil, picking up just 10 points from seven games and only winning one of their last five at Coopers, but they've also lost just once there this season, while Melbourne City are winless in their last four away matches, losing both on their travels this calendar year.

Like Adelaide, City are missing several key players this week, although Tilio and Leckie should play more prominent roles than against Macarthur when they were restricted to substitute appearances in the last half hour. That gives me confidence that the visitors can find the net at Coopers, despite blanking in their last two games, as Veart's side have kept just two clean sheets this season and none in their last seven contests.

Six of the United's eight wins in 2024/25 have seen both teams score and another victory without a shutout looks likely here.

Player to Receive a Card - Callum Talbot (MC) @ 100/30

Melbourne City right-back Callum Talbot has only been booked once this term but on Friday he will come up against an old adversary in Adelaide left-winger Folami, who joined the Reds in the off-season from City's rivals, Melbourne Victory.

Talbot was yellow-carded in the 27th minute of last April's Melbourne derby for a foul on Folami who has been upended, on average, 1.5 times per game this season and was taken down twice in just over an hour in his last appearance against Auckland.

His direct opponent on Friday, Talbot, is averaging 1.2 fouls per game and like last season, could take alternative action to deal with Folami.

Offers

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