Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix Prediction: The Nix to overshadow ‘Kiwi Messi’ debut

Brisbane Roar's bid to get their campaign back on track in the Australia A-League Men's sees them take on leaders Wellington Phoenix on Friday (KO, 08:45), with the game taking place at the Roar's Kayo Stadium.

The hosts currently sit ninth in the standings after three straight defeats, with their strong start to the season - which saw them lost just one of their first seven - wiped out by a subsequent run of seven losses in eight.

Friday's visitors, meanwhile, are sitting pretty at the top having lost just twice this term, and the Nix can move five points clear of Melbourne Victory ahead of the second-placed side's clash with Newcastle Jets on Sunday.

Team News

Brisbane fans received a huge boost this week with the news that A-League great Marco Rojas has joined for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign. The New Zealand winger, dubbed the 'Kiwi Messi', most recently played for Chilean side Colo-Colo, and goes straight into the squad for Friday's game.

The Roar will also be bolstered by the return of influential midfielder Jay O'Shea, who was banned against the Central Coast Mariners last week, while Keegan Jelacic is back from a suspension of his own, one which saw him miss two matches.

There was a big return in Wellington's 2-1 win at Newcastle Jets last weekend, as Oskar Zawada made a goalscoring comeback from a six-game absence. The Polish striker, who found the net 15 times in his maiden A-League campaign in 2022-23, will now be looking for a first start since December 9, with David Ball potentially making way.

Match Odds

Brisbane Roar are 13/10 to record a first win over Wellington Phoenix since March 2022, with the visitors priced at 8/5 for the victory and the draw at 5/2.

Both teams to score in the River City is 4/9 and it's 8/15 for over 2.5 goals.

Wellington Phoenix to win and over 2.5 goals @ 13/5

These sides are in contrasting form heading into this one, with Wellington in a confident mood after winning four of their last seven, including their last two away from home.

The Nix have won half (4/8) of their matches away from New Zealand this season, with the last three of those victories seeing the over 2.5 goals bet land as well.

Brisbane's seven A-League home games have all had three goals or more, and six of their last eight and each of the Nix's last five have seen both teams score, so there should be goals in Friday's fixture.

Wellington Phoenix half-time/full-time @ 16/5

Giancarlo Italiano's side have been fast-starters this season, particularly away from home where they have led at half-time - and held on for the three points - in their last three.

The opposite can be said of Brisbane, whose last three games at the Kayo Stadium have seen them fall behind before the interval, and go on to lose in two of them.

With Zawada potentially back in the starting XI, and with Rojas likely to begin on the bench for the Roar, the Nix could make a strong start on Friday.

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.