Brisbane Roar vs Sydney Prediction: Ouahim to step up in duo’s absence

It's a battle between the two conquests of Australian A-League Men's newbies Auckland FC on Friday (08:35, TNT Sports 2), as Brisbane Roar and Sydney FC face off at Suncorp Stadium. The Lions lost 2-0 to the Black Knights in their A-League Men's opener on October 19 before being given a bye last weekend, while the Sky Blues followed up their 2-1 Sydney derby success against Western Sydney Wanderers with a late 1-0 defeat in New Zealand last Sunday.

Below you can find my Brisbane Roar vs Sydney prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Brisbane Roar's Neicer Acosta, who made his competitive debut for the club in their 2024/25 Australian A-League Men's opener against Auckland, has been ruled out of round three through injury.

The Ecuadorian joins Scott Neville and Marcus Ferkranus in the treatment room, while Ivan Ozzi is also out of the squad despite appearing as a late substitute in round one.

However, Corey Brown is back from suspension, while Quinn Macnicol is also named in the 20-man squad, which will be cut by two on Friday.

Football Odds

Sydney saw star man Joe Lolley hobble off in the first half of their 1-0 defeat to Auckland last week, and the Englishman's groin injury prevents him from making the trip to Brisbane.

Corey Hollman, who came off at half-time in New Zealand, is also ruled out.

Aaron Gurd and marquee signing Douglas Costa, who both missed last week's loss, remain injured.

Max Burgess is back from a one-game ban, though, and is likely to be battling 20-year-old Adrian Segecic to replace Hollman in the starting XI.

Brisbane Roar vs Sydney Odds

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

Brisbane Roar are 21/10 to get their first three points on the board this season, giving the hosts an implied win probability of 32.3%, while Sydney are 1/1 (50%) to claim a second success of the calendar year at Suncorp Stadium having beaten the Lions 2-1 there on January 6.

The draw is priced at 5/2, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 8/15.

Sydney striker Patryk Klimala (7/5) is favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, with Thomas Waddingham (15/8) shortest priced for the hosts.

Match Result - Sydney @ 1/1

Sydney have enjoyed a fair amount of success in this fixture since the start of 2023, winning three, drawing twice and losing just one of their six head-to-heads.

The Roar got the better of the Sky Blues in the first fixture at Suncorp Stadium last season, winning 3-0 last October, but that was with Steve Corica still in charge of Sydney, and the beleaguered boss was replaced by current incumbent Ufuk Talay shortly after.

Talay has had a pretty good first year as Sydney boss, and he's unbeaten in two games against Brisbane, overseeing a 2-1 win in the River City in January before his side played out a 1-1 draw at Sydney Football Stadium in March when the hosts were reduced to 10 men inside 25 minutes. The Sky Blues still took the lead through Robert Mak in the 64th minute before Henry Hore levelled things up three minutes later.

The last week or so has been a disappointing one for Talay as Sydney lost their AFC Champions League 2 clash with Hiroshima 2-1 in Japan before the heartache of conceding in second-half stoppage time in Auckland, where the former Wellington Phoenix boss was critical of several decisions that went against his side.

Equally frustrating was the injury sustained by key man Lolley, who will miss out on Friday. The Englishman's absence strikes a big blow to Sydney's chances of claiming all three points at Suncorp Stadium, but I still think there's enough quality within their ranks to go for a win.

There were 11 points separating these sides in the A-League Men's last season as fourth-placed Sydney qualified for the play-offs while Brisbane had to settle for ninth.

It's too early to judge the Roar this season as they've only played once in the league, although a July 4-2 defeat at home to Perth Glory in the preliminary rounds of the Australia Cup was hugely disappointing.

What is clear, though, is that they are well off the pace compared to Sydney, who have played six times - twice in the league, three times in continental competition, and once in the cup - since Brisbane were knocked out by the Glory.

It could be a close contest on Friday, which is why I'm reluctant to back goals alongside a match result selection, but ultimately, I think it's worth plumping for the visitors at EVS.

Anytime Goalscorer - Anis Ouahim (SYD) @ 12/5

With Lolley and Costa both missing in Brisbane, there's pressure on the likes of Klimala and German midfielder Anis Ouahim to step up and assume some of the goalscoring burden left by the Englishman and Brazilian.

Ouahim has already shown his prowess in front of goal this season, netting on his Australia Cup and AFC Champions League 2 bow for Sydney.

The off-season arrival from Dutch club Heracles scored from the penalty spot on his debut at Oakleigh on July 30 and followed that strike up with an open-play brace at home to Hong Kong side Eastern AA on September 19.

He hasn't managed to score in his following three appearances but has registered at least one attempt in all, shooting once against WSW, twice in Hiroshima, and twice at Auckland last weekend.

At 12/5, I'm happy to get behind him rediscovering his goalscoring touch in Brisbane.

Offers

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