Macarthur vs Melbourne Victory Prediction: Plenty of spice between struggling sides

We’ve got a double-billing of action from the Australian A-League Men’s on Friday, starting with Melbourne Victory’s trip to Campbelltown Stadium to take on Macarthur FC (08:35 GMT, TNT Sports 2).

Below are my Macarthur vs Melbourne Victory predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Team News

Damien Da Silva, Chris Ikonomidis and Sebastian Krsklovic (all unspecified) are still out injured for Macarthur, while Henrique Oliveira remains on international duty with Australia's U17s.

Football Odds

Brendan Hamill (knee), Reno Piscopo, Franco Lino and Emre Saglam (all leg) are sidelined for Melbourne Victory, who will also be without Denis Genreau on Friday as he serves a suspension for his dismissal against Brisbane Roar last week.

Macarthur vs Melbourne Victory Odds

Macarthur suffered a pair of 2-1 defeats against Victory last season, and the Bulls are 6/4 to win this week, with their chances of claiming all three points rated at 40%. The visitors, despite losing their last three games without scoring, are the same price (6/4), while the draw is available at 23/10.

Corner Over/Under - Over 11.5 @ 6/5

Only Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets (10.83) games are averaging more corners in the ALM this season than Macarthur (10.5), who took seven corners to Perth Glory's four last weekend, with 11 recorded in total.

Victory games, meanwhile, average the fewest corners (7.83), but their last two against Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar have produced 13 and 11, respectively.

Today's Football Fixtures

Last season's corresponding fixture finished with 12 corners, five for the hosts, and seven for the visitors.

With both sides coming into this contest on the back of a defeat - three consecutive in Victory's case - we should see the Bulls and MVC going all out for three points here, which should hopefully contribute to an entertaining match, with plenty of crosses, shots and corners to help us land the above selection.

Booking Points Over/Under +42.5 - Over 42.5 @ 13/8

There's potential for this game to get real scrappy.

Both sides have struggled this season, in particular Victory, who are bottom of the table, two points behind 11th-place Newcastle Jets, while the Bulls aren't much better off in ninth. The two teams are also the joint-lowest scorers in the league with just four goals apiece.

However, as tempting as it may be to back under 2.5 goals at 11/10, I think there is more value to be had in backing Over 42.5 Booking Points.

Victory's defeat at Brisbane Roar last time out saw 75 booking points recorded, with 45 in the direction of Arthur Diles' team, marking the second time this season that they have been involved in a game with 50 or more booking points.

Macarthur, meanwhile, saw their defeat to Perth Glory last Sunday fall just short of the +42.5 mark as both sides picked up 20 apiece. Half (three) of their league matches this season have produced 50 or more booking points, though, and in their only previous meeting with Victory this calendar year, in April, 50 booking points were issued - 10 to the Bulls, and 40 to Victory.

With pride and points on the line this week, I'm expecting things to get tasty, which could see the cards come out at Campbelltown Stadium.

Nick Ware P/L 25/26 ALM Season (After GW6)

 P/L: +9.88