Football Bet of the Day: Giant-killers Heidelberg to add the Jets to victim list

Saturday's Football Bet of the Day comes from Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, where Heidelberg United and Newcastle Jets will contest the final of the Australia Cup.

As members of the A-League Men's, situated at the top of Australia's football pyramid, the Jets are favourites to lift the cup on Saturday, ahead of their National Premier Leagues Victoria counterparts, Heidelberg. However, as discussed below, we could see an upset in Melbourne, with three ALM clubs already put to the sword by United...

Heidelberg United vs Newcastle Jets Odds

Heidelberg have stunned the competition this year, reaching the final without conceding a single goal.

First, they saw off NPL Northern NSW side Weston Bears 2-0, before running into the first of three ALM teams, Western Sydney Wanderers, who finished fourth last season and fielded a strong starting XI at the Olympic Park Stadium, which included Bozhidar Kraev and Kosta Barbarouses, who scored eight and 10 league goals, respectively, in 2024/25.

The Wanderers were well beaten in Melbourne, though, losing 3-0.

Next up for Heidelberg was a visit from Wellington Phoenix, who posed even less threat than the Wanderers. The Nix were thrashed 4-0 and registered just two shots on target, four fewer than WSW managed.

The best was still to come, as Heidelberg were drawn against reigning ALM Premiership champions Auckland FC, who had lost just two of their last 20 games. That didn't faze their opponents, though, who triumphed 2-0 thanks to second-half strikes from Jauch Bul and Asahi Yokokawa.

United are now seven matches unbeaten across all competitions, and have suffered just one defeat in their last 27. This speaks to an uber-confident side that isn't just in the Australia Cup to make up the numbers, but now, to win it.

The Jets have only faced one league rival, Macarthur FC, in their run to the final, beating the Bulls 3-0 in the quarter-finals. Either side of that victory, they beat Cooks Hill United 5-0, and Avondale FC 4-2, who, admittedly, finished four points above runners-up Heidelberg in the NPL Victoria, but were beaten in the play-off semi-finals by Dandenong City, who went on to lose 2-1 in the final to United.

Still, Heidelberg beat Avondale 3-1 at home in April, and in their 2-1 defeat to Avondale in August, had a man sent off at 1-1.

Going back to the Jets, I don't think they're a team to be feared by Heidelberg. The Newcastle club finished ninth in the 13-team ALM table last season, conceding more goals (44) than they scored (43).

I'm a fan of their forward line, in particular Eli Adams, who I think could be someone who moves to Europe in the next couple of years, but Clayton Taylor, who struck seven times and provided six assists in the league last season, hasn't been involved in the Jets' cup run, and the defence isn't all that impressive.

New head coach Mark Milligan has managed to get a tune out of his new side, but it's still early days in his tenure, and having not played since their victory over Avondale on August 31, they could be a little rusty in the early stages of Saturday's game.

Heidelberg played twice last month in the NPL Victoria play-offs, and have been in action a lot more times than the Jets over the last couple of months.

At 11/5, United, who have already seen off the threat of three ALM clubs, look like great value at 11/5 to add another scalp in 90 minutes.

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