Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers Prediction: Wanderers to end H2H hoodoo

Brisbane Roar finally got their first win of the 2024/25 Australian A-League Men's campaign on January 18, beating Sydney FC 4-3 in the Emerald City, but they've been forced to wait nearly two weeks for their next game which arrives on Friday (08:35, TNT Sports 2) against an out-of-sorts Western Sydney Wanderers side at Suncorp Stadium.

Below is my Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Brisbane Roar stalwart Scott Neville will bring an end to his 18-year professional career on Friday when he makes his 300th appearance, over a third of which have come in Roar orange. The 36-year-old may have to settle for a place on the bench and wait for a late substitute outing, though, after his side's victory last time out.

Young Socceroos forward, Nathan Amanatidis, who joined Roar from Sydney last week, is in line to make his debut for the club on Friday pending domestic transfer clearance.

Ben Warland, meanwhile, remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Football Odds

Dylan Scicluna (knee) and Jeong Tae-wook (ankle) are still in the Western Sydney Wanderers treatment room, but Gabriel Cleur (soft tissue), yet to feature this calendar year, and six-goal striker Brandon Borrello (hamstring), who missed out for the first time this season in last Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Auckland, are back fit and in Friday's extended squad.

Mohamed Al-Taay made his Wanderers debut last week and he will be looking to earn his first start in red and black on Friday.

Marcus Antonsson and Anthony Pantazopoulos could drop out for Borrello and Cleur if both are passed fit to start.

Brisbane Roar vs Western Sydney Wanderers Odds

Despite their struggles in recent seasons, Brisbane Roar are unbeaten against Western Sydney Wanderers since May 2021, winning two and drawing five of their seven ALM meetings and beating them twice in the Australia Cup. Despite this record, Friday's hosts are 13/8 to triumph in this week's fixture, implying a win probability of 38.1%, while their visitors are 5/4, or a 44.4% chance, to claim a fourth success in their last five away trips.

The sides played out a 2-2 draw at CommBank Stadium on December 14 and second stalemate of the season between the teams can be backed at 5/2, while both to score is priced at 2/5.

Wanderers' six-goal top scorer, Nicolas Milanovic, and fellow forward Borrello, head the anytime goalscorer market with both available at 8/5. Rafael Struick, meanwhile, is first up for Roar at 7/4.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Western Sydney Wanderers & Yes @ 12/5

Brisbane stunned Sydney last time out but remain bottom of the standings, four points behind 12th-place Perth Glory, albeit they have played two games fewer than last season's wooden spooners. Roar had lost 10 of their first 12 games, drawing the other two, so the question now is if that victory was the start of something promising or merely an outlier.

Well, Friday's hosts will be glad to welcome the Wanderers to Suncorp, with Alen Stajcic's side losing their last two games against Central Coast Mariners (1-3) and Auckland (0-1). They also lost to Macarthur (2-3) on New Year's Day and drew with Melbourne Victory (2-2) three days later, so their win at Perth Glory (1-2) on January 14 remains their only success this calendar year.

In fairness to the Wanderers, aside from Perth Glory, who they beat, their opponents recently have been decent sides, with three of the other four currently residing in the top six, while the remaining team, the Mariners, were treble winners in 2023/24.

There's big pressure on the Wanderers this week to return to winning ways and while that may weigh heavy on their shoulders, I believe that their quality should shine through at Suncorp and lead them to a vital victory in Brisbane.

Ruben Zadkovich's side held WSW to a 2-2 draw at CommBank Stadium in December's reverse fixture but their first goal that day was an own-goal by Cleur and their second struck by the recently departed Thomas Waddingham, who is now plying his trade in the EFL Championship with South Coast side Portsmouth.

That was the eighth head-to-head in a row that both teams had scored and further statistics support the suggestion that there could be goals in Friday's contest.

No ALM team have found the net in more games this season than the Wanderers' total of 13 with only the division's stingiest side, Auckland, managing to shut their attack out, and only Sydney (32) and Adelaide United (31) have struck more goals than the Wanderers (29).

However, only Perth Glory (37) and the Roar (30) have shipped more, and both teams to score has landed in 85.7 per cent (12) of their league games.

Back the Wanderers to get back on track on Friday, but don't expect things to be simple for Stajcic's side.

Total Goals - Over 3.5 @ 6/5

The Wanderers' league games this season are averaging four goals, a statistic only matched by Adelaide United, while Roar aren't far off in fourth (3.54 per game). Seven of Brisbane's matches have seen over 3.5 goals scored compared to nine for the Wanderers, which includes two of their last three away games.

This fixture hasn't lacked for goals in recent years with at least four scored in three of the last four meetings including the last two in Brisbane.

Roar recently lost their top scorer Waddingham but that didn't seem to affect them last time out as they fired four past Sydney, and the Wanderers' defence is equally as bad as their cross-town rivals.

Friday's visitors, meanwhile, possess two of the division's most prolific forwards, Borrello and Milanovic, in their ranks, and can also count on the creative talents of Juan Mata, so they shouldn't struggle to create clear-cut opportunities at Suncorp.

Offers

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