Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners Prediction: CCM to claim first ALM win at fifth attempt

Central Coast Mariners' search for a long-awaited win this season takes them to Allianz Stadium on Friday (09:00, TNT Sports 2), where they take on fellow strugglers Newcastle Jets. Unlike their opponents, the Jets do have an Australian A-League Men's victory to their name in 2024/25, beating Macarthur 2-1 on October 25, but they've suffered defeats to Melbourne City (0-1) and Western Sydney Wanderers (4-1) either side of that triumph.

Below is my Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, as ninth hosts 10th in the 2024 Unite Round.

Team News

There are no ins or outs from the Newcastle Jets squad that lost to WSW at the CommBank Stadium last time out; however, head coach Rob Stanton could make a couple of changes to his starting XI on Friday.

Callum Timmins, Justin Vidic and Clayton Taylor all came on at the start of the second half against the Wanderers with the Jets two goals down and the trio must be pushing for starts this week. Ben Gibson, Wellissol and Daniel Wilmering were withdrawn at half-time in that defeat and must be fretting for their places in the lineup.

Lachlan Rose, Jacob Dowse, Oscar Fryer, Ben van Dorssen and Zac Bowling remain unavailable for selection.

Football Odds

Central Coast Mariners' luck went from bad to worse in the international break following a broken ankle suffered by youngster Nicholas Duarte. The 20-year-old attacker has been ruled out until the new year, joining club captain Trent Sainsbury, Brad Tapp and Miguel Di Pizio in the treatment room.

Sabit Ngor, Alou Kuol and Storm Roux were second-half substitutes in the Mariners' 3-0 home defeat to Wellington Phoenix last time out and will all be hoping to get the nod from the beginning at Allianz Stadium.

Newcastle Jets vs Central Coast Mariners Odds

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

Newcastle Jets are 8/5 to win on home soil for the first time this season, giving Stanton's side an implied probability of 38.5%, while Central Coast Mariners are 7/5, or a 41.7% chance, to get their first victory of the campaign - home or away.

The draw is priced at 9/4, both teams to score at 4/7, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Kuol (15/8) heads the anytime goalscorer market followed by Mariners teammate Ryan Edmondson (2/1), with 20-year-old Vidic (21/10) first up for the Jets.

Match Result - Central Coast Mariners @ 7/5

The Mariners began the new campaign with an Australia Cup exit to NPL Victoria side Heidelberg in August, drawing 1-1 in regulation time before conceding twice in extra time to lose 3-1. That was the start of a three-game losing streak as they subsequently suffered back-to-back AFC Champions League defeats away to Shandong Taishan (3-1) and at home to Buriram (1-2).

Mark Jackon's side then began their A-League Men's season with a goalless draw in Gosford against Melbourne Victory, the first of three stalemates in the competition (1-1 at Adelaide United, 0-0 at home to Perth Glory) before suffering their first league defeat last time out at Industree Group Stadium against Wellington Phoenix. They've also lost 3-2 to Shandong Taishan in China and suffered a defeat by the same scoreline to Shanghai Port in the same country, making it nine games without a victory. Surely things will start to turn soon for last season's treble winners?

The Jets, meanwhile, beat Western United 4-1 in the preliminary rounds of the Australia Cup in July before beating Rockdale Ilinden 2-1 in Sydney the following month. However, they exited the competition in August, losing 4-3 at home to Macarthur, who remain the only side they have triumphed against in the A-League Men's this season.

Friday's hosts will be buoyed by the poor form of the Mariners but their recent head-to-head record leaves a lot to be desired.

Newcastle have lost their last five games against CCM, which includes three meetings last season; a 3-1 win for Jackson's charges in Gosford last November, a 1-0 victory for the visitors at the McDonald Jones Stadium in March, and another 3-1 scoreline in favour of the Mariners in Newcastle in April.

Concerningly, CCM have scored just once in four league games this term, and their winless run hardly inspires confidence.

However, I think it's worth getting behind them while the value is there. Of course, they have been installed as favourites on Saturday, but at 7/5 they are still over EVS and thus worth taking on, in my opinion, despite their recent travails.

The Mariners don't play again in the A-League Men's until December 8 and they will be desperate to win this weekend to make sure that they aren't left lagging even further behind the top teams by the time they are in action again.

The Jets finished 27 points behind their next opponents in 2023/24, and despite the Mariners losing a whole host of influential performers, the gap between the squads is still significant, I think, and Newcastle also lost their top scorer, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, to Scottish side Motherwell in the off-season.

Half-time/Full-time - Central Coast Mariners/Central Coast Mariners @ 3/1

Taking things further, the Mariners to be leading at half-time and by the end of the final whistle can be backed at 3/1.

The odds are as they are for a reason - Jackson's charges have scored just once in the league this season and that was a second-half equaliser against Adelaide United.

However, they've been drawing at half-time in goalless draws against Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory, while the Jets have been losing at the interval in all three A-League Men's matches in 2024/25.

Stanton's side conceded the only goal of the game in the third minute to Melbourne City on the opening weekend and were 2-0 down at half-time in their 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Western Sydney Wanderers last time out. Between those contests, Newcastle beat Macarthur 2-1 but were behind at the break before Eli Adams bagged a second-half brace to claim all three points for the visitors at Campbelltown Stadium.

The Mariners made a fast start in two of the three meetings between the clubs last season, leading 1-0 at the interval in both 3-1 victories, and the odds are tempting enough for me to take an interest in such a possibility this weekend.

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