Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United Prediction: A second stalemate of the season looms large

After failing to win any of their first four Australian A-League Men's contests this season, Central Coast Mariners have really picked up their form following the conclusion of the November international break, recording back-to-back victories away to Newcastle Jets (1-2) and at home against Sydney FC (2-1). Next, Mark Jackson's side face Adelaide United, who are just one of two unbeaten teams left remaining in the division alongside Auckland FC.

Ahead of Friday's meeting between the two sides at Industree Group Stadium (08:35, TNT Sports 2), check out my Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United prediction below, complete with team news and match odds.

Team News

Trent Sainsbury, Brad Tapp, Nicholas Duarte and Miguel Di Pizio are all still in the treatment room for Central Coast Mariners.

Ex-Leeds United striker Ryan Edmondson missed last Sunday's 2-1 win over Sydney FC and is a doubt for Friday, but Alou Kuol broke his seven-month-long barren spell for the Mariners in fine fashion against the Sky Blues, bagging a brace, and will lead the line in Gosford.

Football Odds

Adelaide United head coach Carl Veart has made one change to the squad selected for last weekend's 1-0 win at Newcastle Jets and it's an enforced one, with the suspended Ben Folami - who received a straight red card for violent conduct at McDonald Jones Stadium - replaced by Manchester United Academy graduate Ryan Tunnicliffe.

Ethan Cox, Jordan Elsey and Bailey O’Neil remain sidelined, while Luke Duzel is now back in full training and awaiting a call-up.

Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Central Coast Mariners are 9/5 to chalk up a third straight success on Friday, giving the hosts an implied win probability of 35.7%, while Adelaide United are 6/5, or a 45.5% chance, to finally get a victory over Jackson's side at the fourth attempt this calendar year.

The draw, which landed between these two earlier in the season, is priced at 12/5, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/7.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Draw & Yes @ 3/1

Both sides head into this fixture in good form, Adelaide in particular as they have won four of their first six ALM games this season, drawing the other two. The first of those stalemates came against this weekend's opponents on October 26 as they drew 1-1 with the Mariners at Coopers Stadium; it was United's first match of the season and CCM's second.

The Reds have since beaten Western Sydney Wanderers (3-4), Western United (2-1), Brisbane Roar (2-3) and Newcastle Jets (0-1), while they were held to a 2-2 draw by Perth Glory in Adelaide on November 29.

So, 33.3 per cent (two) of their games have ended level, while the rest of their encounters have all ended with Veart's side winning by just a single goal, highlighting just how close it had been between them and their opponents.

The Mariners, meanwhile, have endured a horror start to their AFC Champions League campaign, taking just one points from their first six games, and failed to win any of their opening four in the league, drawing their first three, meaning 50 per cent (three) of their ALM contests so far have ended in a stalemate.

Jackson's side have stepped things up on the domestic front recently, recording back-to-back 2-1 wins over Newcastle Jets (A) and Sydney FC (H), but the context of those victories is important. The Jets's loss to the Mariners was the second of a four-game losing streak they are currently on while the Sky Blues had goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares sent off in the 42nd minute of last weekend's match at Industree Group Stadium with the scores goalless.

As mentioned previously, the teams drew 1-1 a couple of months ago and another stalemate sounds about right this weekend, and we can get odds of 3/1 by adding both teams to score, which has landed in 50 per cent of the Mariners' ALM matches and 83 per cent of Adelaide's, into the equation.

Anytime Goalscorer - Dylan Pierias (ADE) @ 16/5

Adelaide's Dylan Pierias has enjoyed a fine start to his Reds career since joining from Western Sydney Wanderers in the off-season, scoring twice in his first six ALM appearances, despite being utilised in an unfamiliar right-back position.

The 24-year-old has previously operated in midfield for the Wanderers, Western United, and Melbourne City, where he started off, but Veart has instead deployed him as an attacking full-back, and to great effect.

Pierias is averaging 2.3 shots per game, taking two v the Mariners, three v the Wanderers, two v Western United, two v Brisbane Roar, four v Perth Glory, and two v the Jets. His two goals came in the same match, the 4-3 win over his former employers, WSW, at CommBank Stadium on November 2.

He hasn't found the net in any of his other five ALM outings but his shot counts show that he isn't afraid to try his luck. Both of his efforts against the Jets last week came from outside the 18-yard box, but only one of his four shots against the Glory the week before came outside the penalty area, so he is also getting into dangerous positions near the goal and not just hitting and hoping from distance.

The Mariners have shown some vulnerability on the left-hand side of their defence this season, something that was particularly evident in their 2-1 win over the Jets last month when Thomas Aquilina drifted in from his right-wing position to roll the ball into an empty net.

Meanwhile, just five minutes before that strike, Jets right-back Dane Ingham was left unmarked in the centre of the goal and missed a golden opportunity to score, sending his header over the bar with the net at his mercy. Ingham had three shots in that game from right-back, and if Pierias gets similar chances, I fancy the Reds man to punish the hosts.

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