Western Sydney Wanderers vs Central Coast Mariners Prediction: Another entertaining win for WSW

Western Sydney Wanderers edged past Perth Glory 2-1 at HBF Park on Tuesday to cut the gap on the Australian A-League Men's top six to three points ahead of their Friday (08:35, TNT Sports 1) meeting with last season's Premiership winners, Central Coast Mariners, at CommBank Stadium in Sydney. The Mariners were losers in the same city last Saturday as they suffered a 4-1 defeat to the Wanderers' rivals, Sydney FC, and Mark Jackson's side will be desperate to avoid back-to-back defeats in the Emerald City.

Below is my Western Sydney Wanderers vs Central Coast Mariners prediction, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, as these two teams go head-to-head for the first time in 2024/25.

Team News

Gab Cleur, Dylan Scicluna and Jeong Tae-wook are all out injured for Western Sydney Wanderers but Jarrod Carluccio, signed from Perth Glory this month, is straight into Alen Stajcic's squad for Friday's fixture.

Football Odds

Bailey Brandtman has dropped out of the Central Coast Mariners squad while Brad Tapp, Lucas Mauragis, Ryan Edmondson and Nicholas Duarte are all still out injured for the visitors.

Western Sydney Wanderers vs Central Coast Mariners Odds

Western Sydney Wanderers have won four of their last seven games and are 8/11, or a 57.9% chance, to make it five in eight on Friday, while Central Coast Mariners are 11/4 (26.7%) to respond to last Saturday's defeat by recording a third consecutive victory over their opponents having beaten the Wanderers 1-0 in Sydney last January and 1-0 in Gosford a month later.

The Mariners are the ALM's stalemate specialist having racked up a league-high five from their first 12 games and it's 11/4 for Jackon's side to record a sixth this week.

Wanderers pair Marcus Antonsson (13/10) and Brandon Borello (11/8) head the anytime goalscorer market with Alou Kuol (9/4) first up for the visitors.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Western Sydney Wanderers & Yes @ 2/1

Both teams have scored in 92 per cent (11) of the Wanderers' first 12 ALM games this season with a 2-0 victory over Melbourne City at AAMI Park on November 30 proving to be the exception to the rule so far. Unsurprisingly, that's a league-high percentage, and while the Mariners (eight) can't compete with that, 67 per cent still ranks them fifth in the BTTS table. Moreover, all five of their away games have seen BTTS - Yes land with the latest, against Sydney, ending in defeat.

Both of the Wanderers' wins at CommBank Stadium in 2024/25 have seen both teams score and the two victories, against Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix, both ended 4-1.

There has been at least one goal on either side in WSW's last seven league games and seven of CCM's last eight, so I'd be surprised if we don't see both teams hit the back of the net on Friday.

Ultimately, I'm backing the hosts to come through and claim all three points as their opponents have been a shadow of themselves this season and have shipped four goals in three of their last five games, a statistic that is sure to have the Wanderers salivating given they have hit multiple goals in their last 10 matches.

Both Teams to Score in First Half - Yes @ 11/4

As well as topping the BTTS table, the Wanderers lead the BTTS in the first half standings with Stajcic's side and their opponents striking before the interval in half (six) of their ALM contests so far this season. Prior to Tuesday's win in Perth, this bet had landed in four consecutive WSW games.

It's been far less common for the Mariners who have only seen both teams score in the first half on two occasions in 2024/25 but both have been in their last four matches post-Christmas, the first on December 28 in a 4-1 defeat to Auckland and the second in another 4-1 loss last time out against Sydney FC. This has been made possible by Jackson's side improving in front of goal as they failed to score in four of their first seven ALM outings but have now struck in their last five.

Friday's fixture at CommBank Stadium pits the division's fourth-worst defence (WSW) against the third-worst (CCM) so I'm expecting a few goals here and it wouldn't be a surprise to see both teams carved open inside the first 45 minutes, so 11/4 for a goal on either side in the first half looks a good price to me.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.