Macarthur vs Western Sydney Wanderers Prediction: Duke to help down former club

Macarthur FC and Western Sydney Wanderers, neither of whom have won a game in February, face off for the third time this season at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday (08:35 GMT, TNT Sports 1).

Below are my Macarthur vs Western Sydney Wanderers predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Bernardo Oliveira (unspecified), Harry Politidis and Ji Dong-won (both ankle) all miss out again for Mile Sterjovski's Macarthur side.

Football Odds

As for Western Sydney Wanderers, head coach Gary van Egmond is without Aidan Simmons, who is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery last week for a thigh injury sustained in the Sydney derby last month.

Macarthur vs Western Sydney Wanderers Odds

Macarthur, who beat Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at CommBank Stadium on New Year's Day, are 6/4 to claim all three points on Saturday, implying a 40% probability of success, with the visitors 7/5, or a 41.7% chance, to exact revenge.

The first meeting of the season finished 1-1 at Campbelltown Stadium on November 1 , and another stalemate between the two teams this weekend can be backed at 12/5, while a repeat of that scoreline is priced at 6/1.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Macarthur & Yes @ 11/4

The Wanderers are on a run of two straight away reverses in which both sides have scored, losing 4-1 at Sydney FC on January 31 and 3-2 at Central Coast Mariners on February 2, with goalscoring stalemates at home to Melbourne City (1-1) and Wellington Phoenix (2-2) in between.

WSW have lost and seen both teams scored in three of their four away games post-Christmas, starting with a 3-2 defeat at Adelaide United on December 27.

Macarthur, meanwhile, have scored and conceded in four of their last five home games in the ALM, a 3-0 defeat to Sydney FC on January 10 proving to be the outlier.

Today's Football Fixtures

The Bulls won two of those matches, beating Brisbane Roar 2-1 on December 19 and Melbourne City 6-2 on January 24, also drawing 1-1 with Auckland FC and 2-2 with Perth Glory on January 5 and February 6, respectively.

Macarthur have failed to win any of their last three league games, drawing back-to-back before falling to a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle Jets last weekend, but they should have taken some confidence from that narrow loss to the ALM leaders, and with their AFC Champions League 2 adventure over, they can concentrate on one competition now.

The Wanderers are in even worse form, picking up just two points from their last four matches, and while I think the visitors possess the quality to get on the scoresheet at Campbelltown Stadium, I fancy the Bulls to utilise their home advantage, as well as the attacking firepower in their ranks.

Anytime Goalscorer - Mitchell Duke (MAC) @ 7/5

January signing Mitchell Duke has made a positive start to life as a Macarthur player, scoring in two of his first five ALM appearances, with both goals coming in two of his three starts.

The 35-year-old began last Sunday's loss at McDonald Jones Stadium on the bench after starting the Bulls' continental clash with Bangkok United three days before, but with nearly a week's rest, he should be restored to the starting XI against his former club.

Duke scored 24 goals across 54 ALM games for the Wanderers before leaving for Japan in 2021, and you can imagine he will be desperate to get one over his former club on Saturday, particularly as he aims to impress Australia head coach Tony Popovic with the 2026 World Cup in mind.

At 7/5, he's a solid price in the Anytime Goalscorer market.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (After GW18)

 P/L: +4.6%