Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney Prediction: More Sky Blues sorrow for CCM

Sydney FC suffered disappointment in the derby last weekend, losing 1-0 at Western Sydney Wanderers, but the Sky Blues remain top of the Australian A-League Men’s after six rounds of fixtures. On Saturday (08:35 GMT, TNT Sports 3), Ufuk Talay’s side head to Polytec Stadium, where they take on Central Coast Mariners, who held Melbourne City to a goalless draw last weekend.

Below are my Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Trent Sainsbury (Achilles) and Haine Eames (unspecified) are still sidelined for the hosts, who are at least boosted by the return from injury of Diesel Herrington.

Football Odds

Paul Okon-Engstler (quad) has been ruled out for Sydney, so Ufuk Talay could hand a first start of the season to Tiago Quintal.

Corey Hollman is another potential replacement for Okon-Engstler in the Sky Blues' engine room, but he's yet to make an appearance in 2025/26 and could instead be utilised from the bench in the second half.

Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney Odds

Central Coast Mariners lost October’s reverse fixture 2-0 at Allianz Stadium, and the Gosford club are 10/3 underdogs this weekend, implying a 23.1% probability of success. Sydney are 4/6 (60%) to return to winning ways on Saturday, with the draw priced at 11/4.

Corner Over/Under - Over 10.5 @ 6/5

Only Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets (both 10.83) games are averaging more corners than the Mariners and Sydney (both 10.5), who have seen at least 11 corners taken in four and three of their six league matches, respectively.

The line failed to land in October's meeting, falling two short, but it was a winning selection the last time that the Sky Blues visited Gosford, with 11 recorded in the Mariners' 2-1 win in December 2024.

Today's Football Fixtures

Polytec Stadium (12.67) is top for average corners taken per game this season, with the Mariners averaging five taken and 7.67 conceded per game, respectively, with at least 11 recorded in all three matches there in 2025/26.

Sydney's away games are averaging 10.33 corners taken, with their last two, a 4-1 win at Newcastle Jets and a 1-0 defeat at Western Sydney Wanderers, producing 14 and 11, respectively.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Sydney & Under 3.5 @ 6/4

Sydney's four-game winning streak was brought to an end by their city rivals last weekend, but the Sky Blues will be hopeful of getting back to top form on Saturday against an opponent they have beaten twice already this calendar year, including earlier this season at Allianz Stadium (2-0).

Admittedly, both victories have come on home soil, and the Mariners were 2-1 winners the last time they met in Gosford, but after beating the Jets 3-2 at Polytec Stadium on the opening weekend of the season, CCM have drawn their last two on home soil against Wellington Phoenix (1-1) and Melbourne City (0-0).

Having restricted the Mariners to just eight shots (and one on target) in October's head-to-head, keeping a clean sheet in the process, I'm happy to back the Sky Blues to claim a third calendar-year success over them on Saturday.

I'm also adding in under 3.5 goals, which has landed in four of CCM's six games this season, and five of Sydney's.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season

 P/L: +9.88