Auckland vs Newcastle Jets Prediction: Milligan’s men no match for Black Knights

Auckland FC suffered a disappointing result last weekend as they were held 1-1 at home by Brisbane Roar, but the Black Knights at least kept their unbeaten record intact. Steve Corica's side are at Go Media Stadium again this Sunday (02:00 GMT, TNT Sports 1) for the second of three consecutive home games, and their opponents, Newcastle Jets, arrive in New Zealand bottom of the Australian A-League Men's table, having lost their last three matches.

Below are my Auckland vs Newcastle Jets predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Auckland captain Hiroki Sakai (hamstring) is still out, but Jake Brimmer and Marlee Francois have both recovered from their injuries.

Dan Hall is available after serving a suspension last weekend, but Logan Rogerson remains banned.

Football Odds

Kota Mizunuma, Oscar Fryer, Noah James, Lucas Scicluna, Ben van Dorssen, Alex Nassiep, Christian Bracco and Richard Nkomo (all unspecified) are all unavailable for Newcastle Jets, who are at least boosted by the return from injury of Eli Adams, who has missed his side's last four games with an ankle issue.

Auckland vs Newcastle Jets Odds

Auckland won last season's corresponding fixture 2-0 on November 30, 2024, and exactly a year on, they are 8/15 favourites, implying a 65.2% probability of success, with Newcastle Jets priced at 4/1, or a 20% chance, and the draw offered at 3/1.

Highest Scoring Half - First Half @ 15/8

Auckland drew their first league game of the season 0-0 at Melbourne Victory, but there has been at least one goal scored in their last four, and in each of those matches, the highest-scoring half was the first half.

The Black Knights beat Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 on October 25 thanks to a 21st-minute strike from Jesse Randall, and six days later, they overcame Adelaide United 2-1 after heading into half-time at 1-1.

A week after that victory over the Reds, Corica's charges beat Wellington Phoenix by the same scoreline, with all three goals scored before the interval.

The same was true last Sunday as Lachlan Brook's 18th-minute effort was cancelled out by Brisbane Roar's Justin Vidic in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, and no further goals were scored in the second half as the two teams played out a 1-1 draw.

Today's Football Fixtures

The first half was also the highest-scoring half in the Jets' game last Sunday as they were drawing 1-1 at half-time with Perth Glory before going on to lose 2-1.

It marked the third time this season that the first half had been the highest-scoring half in a Jets match as three first-half strikes were recorded in their 3-2 defeat at Central Coast Mariners on October 19, and four in their 5-2 hammering of Melbourne Victory five days later.

Last season's corresponding fixture saw Auckland score their goals in the 83rd and 89th minute, through Neyder Moreno and Francis De Vries, respectively, but in the reverse meeting in March, the 1-1 draw at McDonald Jones Stadium, Adams and Randall struck for the Jets and Black Knights, respectively, in the 12th and 37th minute.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Auckland & Under 3.5 @ 9/5

The Jets saw five, seven and five goals scored, respectively, in their first three league games of the season, but their last two have been slightly less chaotic, with three goals scored in each.

Auckland, meanwhile, have seen under 3.5 goals scored in all five matches, and in 2024/25, 71% (22) of their 31 ALM contests (including two in the Finals series) finished with three or fewer goals.

Only Melbourne City (25) conceded fewer regular-season goals than Auckland (27) in 2024/25, and the Black Knights look solid again this term, with their defence breached just three times after five games.

Corica's side won last season's corresponding fixture 2-0, and a similar scoreline is predicted on Sunday, with the hosts undefeated and Mark Milligan's men arriving at Go Media Stadium after three straight defeats.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (after GW5)

 P/L: +14.25