Auckland vs Newcastle Jets Prediction: Black Knights unbreachable again

After four wins from four games, Auckland supporters could be forgiven for thinking this Australian A-League Men's thing is a doddle. The Black Knights will be looking to go five from five on Saturday (04:00, TNT Sports 2) when they host Newcastle Jets, who have lost three of their four ALM contests so far, at Go Media Stadium.

Read on for my Auckland vs Newcastle Jets prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Once again, Auckland head coach Steve Corica has a fully fit squad to choose from, with 10 players starting all four wins under the former Sydney FC boss. Jake Brimmer began the season in the starting XI but dropped down to the bench against Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix, but a brace against the latter earned him a recall for last Sunday's 1-0 win over Macarthur in the 'Unite Round' at Allianz Stadium.

Max Mata made his return from injury as an unused substitute last week but failed to feature in Sydney, so he will be hoping for some minutes on Saturday.

Football Odds

Unlike Auckland, Newcastle Jets have several injury absentees with Lachlan Rose, Jacob Dowse, Oscar Fryer, Zac Bowling and Ben van Dorssen all unavailable for selection.

Rob Stanton's side lost 2-1 to reigning Premiership champions Central Coast Mariners last Friday and that defeat could necessitate a couple of changes to the starting XI.

Ben Gibson, Wellissol and Daniel Wilmering are all itching for opportunities from the off after appearing as second-half substitutes in Sydney.

Auckland vs Newcastle Jets Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Auckland vs Newcastle Jets page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Auckland are 1/2 to keep up their 100 per cent record, which gives the New Zealanders an implied win probability of 66.7%, while Newcastle Jets are 9/2, or an 18.2% chance, to claim a second victory of the campaign.

The draw is priced at 3/1, both teams to score at 8/11, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Auckland strikers Mata and Guillermo May (both 13/10) head the anytime goalscorer market, followed by teammates Logan Rogerson and Brimmer (both 15/8), while Gibson, Eli Adams and Justin Vidic (all 3/1) are first up for the visitors.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 2.5 - Auckland & Under 2.5 @ 3/1

This bet has landed in all four of Auckland's ALM matches this season, with the Black Knights beginning the campaign with a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar at Go Media Stadium on October 19 before beating Sydney FC 1-0 at the same venue eight days later. Corica's side then kicked off this month with a 2-0 victory at Sky Stadium against fellow New Zealanders Wellington Phoenix on November 2 and edged out Macarthur 1-0 in Sydney last weekend.

Auckland are yet to concede, highlighting their rock-solid defence, while they've not exactly set the world alight going forward, scoring just six goals despite winning all four games. Corica appears to be more focused on ensuring his team is well protected, knowing that if they can nick a goal then they stand a big chance of winning the match.

The Jets, meanwhile, lost their first game of the season 1-0 at home to Melbourne City. Since then, there have been at least three goals in all three contests, with a 2-1 win at Macarthur on October 25 and a 2-1 defeat in Sydney to the Mariners last weekend sandwiched either side of a 4-1 hammering at Western Sydney Wanderers on November 8.

It's hard to back against Auckland at the moment given their perfect start to life in the ALM, and considering Newcastle have lost three of their first four games, I'm tipping Saturday's hosts to claim all three points in the North Island of New Zealand. The Black Knights are also yet to concede, and come up against a Jets side that has scored just five times this term - blanking at home to Melbourne City and netting just once in each of their last two matches against the Wanderers and Mariners.

Newcastle lost last season's 17-goal top scorer Apostolos Stamatelopoulos to Motherwell in the summer and his two replacements, Wellissol and Rose, are yet to get off the mark for the Jets, although the latter has a justifiable excuse as injury has prevented him from appearing in the league.

A fifth win with under 2.5 total goals for Auckland is the way to go here, I think, and 3/1 is an attractive price.

Correct Score - Auckland 1-0 Newcastle Jets @ 13/2

I'm not fancying anyone in the anytime or first goalscorer market, so instead, I'm going for a correct score prediction.

My first tip is for Auckland to win and for under 2.5 total goals to be scored, which narrows things down to a 1-0 or 2-0 in favour of Saturday's hosts. The Black Knights have won by each scoreline twice this season, beating Sydney FC and Macarthur 1-0 and Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix 2-0.

The Jets have already suffered a 1-0 defeat this term, losing at home to Melbourne City on October 19, and one of their other two losses was by a one-goal margin as they were defeated 2-1 by the Mariners last week. Going back to last season, four of Newcastle's last six losses have been by a single goal - and three of them have finished 1-0.

I can see something similar happening to last week when May struck in the 34th minute for Auckland, who held on tight for the rest of the match to take all three points back home.

Offers

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