Brisbane Roar vs Auckland Prediction: Black Knights to return to winning ways

The Australian A-League Men's games come thick and fast in January, and there are just three days between Brisbane Roar’s loss to Melbourne City and the visit of table-toppers Auckland FC. The Roar have been struggling of late, so will be hoping that they can turn things around at home, while the New Zealanders will be aiming to get back to winning ways too after dropping points in their last two matches.

Below are my Brisbane Roar vs Auckland predictions for what should be an entertaining affair at Suncorp Stadium on Friday (08:35 GMT, TNT Sports 1).

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Team News

Emmett Shaw became the third-youngest debutant in Brisbane Roar history against Melbourne City last time out, with Mikael Evangorou-Alao also making his debut, and both players could feature from the bench again in this one. 

Marcus Gerkranus, Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Nathan Amantidis and Milorad Stajic are all injury absentees.

Football Odds

For Auckland, Guillermo May, Sam Cosgrove, Callan Elliot and Jake Girdwood-Reich were all rested against Macarthur last time out. Cosgrove and May are likely to return to the starting lineup for this game.

Brisbane Roar vs Auckland Odds

Auckland have been installed as 13/10 favourites for the victory, while Brisbane Roar are on offer at 7/4 and the draw is available at 11/5.

Over 2.5 goals is available to back at 4/5, while both teams to score is priced at 4/6, and it is 7/4 for over 1.5 goals in the first half.

Match Result - Auckland @ 13/10

Auckland topped the A-League table on debut last year before losing out to Melbourne Victory in the semi-finals, and they have started strongly again this time around.

Steve Corica’s men have won three and drawn two of their five away games and currently top the division.

That presents a tough challenge to a Brisbane Roar team struggling for form. The hosts may be fourth in the table, but they have now only won one of their last five outings following back-to-back defeats against Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City.

Only Western Sydney Wanderers have scored fewer goals than their 11 in 12 games, and that may be their undoing once more, so back Auckland.

Today's Football Fixtures

Anytime Goalscorer - Sam Cosgrove (AKL) @ 13/8

Cosgrove has been a revelation since signing for Auckland, scoring four league goals already this season and providing three assists.

The former Aberdeen and Birmingham striker was rested against Macarthur last time out, but can show his team what they were missing by getting on the scoresheet against a Brisbane team who have conceded seven times in their last four games.