Macarthur vs Auckland Prediction: Back a boring start between the Bulls & Black Knights

Auckland enter this week's 'Unite Round' looking to maintain their 100 per cent start to life in the Australian A-League Men's. Their opponents at Allianz Stadium on Sunday (05:00, TNT Sports 4), Macarthur, stand in their way of such a feat and are buoyed by an impressive 2-1 victory over Sydney last time out in the competition.

The Bulls played the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium and that's also the venue for this weekend's contest, meaning neither side has home advantage. Below is my Macarthur vs Auckland prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Jed Drew missed Macarthur's win at Allianz Stadium before the international break and the 21-year-old remains injured for this weekend's game against Auckland.

Chris Ikonomidis and Bernardo are also still injured for the Bulls, who could name an unchanged starting XI despite midfielder Jake Hollman being withdrawn midway through the first half of that win. Ariath Piol replaced the 23-year-old against Sydney and is likely to be head coach Mile Sterjovski's first port of call if Hollman isn't passed fit to begin Sunday's match.

Football Odds

Max Mata is back available for Auckland after missing their 2-0 victory over fellow New Zealanders Wellington Phoenix last time out. The 24-year-old will have to settle for a place on the bench, though, after only being deployed as a late substitute in the Black Knights' first two matches, home wins against Brisbane Roar (2-0) and Sydney (1-0).

Auckland kept up their 100 per cent record in Wellington but it took a late brace from substitute Jake Brimmer to secure all three points. The off-season arrival from Melbourne Victory has now put himself in the frame to start on Sunday, with Chilean Luis Felipe Gallegos at risk of dropping down to the bench if Black Knights boss Steve Corica decides to reward Brimmer.

Macarthur vs Auckland Odds

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

Macarthur are 7/4 to make it back-to-back victories, giving the Bulls an implied win probability of 36.4%, while Auckland are 6/5, or a 45.5% chance, to triumph again.

The draw is priced at 5/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/7, while Macarthur's Valere Germain (6/4) leads the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Auckland forwards Mata and Guillermo May (both 7/4).

First Half Total Goals 2-Way - Under 0.5 @ 5/2

One goal before the half-time whistle obviously tears this bet apart, but looking at the opening periods played by these two teams this season, I think we're getting decent value by backing a goalless first half at 5/2.

Auckland's first-ever ALM goal was scored by Brisbane Roar's Harry Van der Saag in the eighth minute of their opening game on October 19, but that own-goal remains the only strike they have seen go for or against them in the first half of a match. The Black Knights played out goalless first halves with both Sydney and Wellington Phoenix before beating them 1-0 and 2-0, respectively.

Macarthur, meanwhile, have played back-to-back games without conceding or scoring a first-half goal, with all of the efforts in their 2-1 defeat to Melbourne Victory and their win by the same scoreline against Sydney arriving after the interval.

Their opponents at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, Auckland, are yet to concede and they will be desperate to prolong that record for as long as possible, so expect them to be solid from the get-go this weekend.

Corners Over/Under - Under 10.5 @ 11/10

The corner count has been low so far in Macarthur's ALM matches, with three of their four league contests finishing with 10 or fewer corners, which is what we need for this second selection to land on Sunday.

There were six corners in their opening-round 6-1 thrashing of Perth Glory, with the Bulls taking just a single corner, nine in their third match against Victory (four for Macarthur), and seven last time out against Sydney, where they won three corners.

Auckland, meanwhile, opened up the season against Brisbane Roar, taking four of the 10 corners awarded, while there were just seven given (five for the Black Knights) in their win in Wellington last time out. Their win against Sydney remains their only game that has seen over 10.5 corners, with nine of the 13 taken by the New Zealanders.

At over EVS, I think it's worth taking on under 10.5 corners between two sides that have only seen surpass that number once each.

Offers

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