Western Sydney Wanderers vs Western United Prediction: WSW to bounce back at CommBank

Western Sydney Wanderers are looking to bounce back from the humiliation of last week's 4-1 Sydney derby defeat when they host Western United at the CommBank Stadium on Friday (KO, 08:45). The hosts have won just once in their last five matches and are down to sixth spot in the Australian A-League Men's.

Western United are bottom of the division but things are starting to look up for the western Melbourne club, who have secured victory in two of their last four outings, including last Saturday's 1-0 win over Perth Glory. Below we have provided team news, match odds and outlined our Western Sydney Wanderers vs Western United prediction.

Team News

Joshua Brillante is back in the WSW squad after sitting the last match out, and the 30-year-old looks likely to return in central midfield. There could be more changes after the manner of last week's defeat, with Oscar Priestman and Tom Beadling also likely to be restored to the starting XI.

Western United defender James Donachie is free to return on Friday after serving a three-game suspension but there is bad news at the other end of the pitch, where striker Noah Botic has been ruled out for an extended period.

The injury sustained to Botic is a big blow with the 22-year-old just starting to hit top form, scoring four goals in his last six appearances. United do have several capable attackers waiting in the wings though, including Nikita Rukavytsya and Daniel Penha.

Meanwhile, Ramy Najjarine has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his shoulder, Rhys Bozinovski is sidelined with a minor ankle injury, and Charbel Shamoon has been dropped out of the squad.

Match Odds

The hosts are 4/6 to bounce back from last weekend with a win on Friday. Western United are 3/1 to record a shock victory over the Wanderers, while a draw can be backed at 3/1.

Both teams to score is 8/15 and it's 5/4 for over 3.5 goals.

Western Sydney Wanderers to win and over 2.5 goals @ 5/4

Over 2.5 goals has landed in over half of WSW's (10/19 - 53 per cent) and Western United's (11/19 - 58 per cent) league games this term, and it's been a heavy feature of the former's recent matches.

Four of WSW's last five have seen at least three goals scored, as well as their previous three at home. There have also been over 2.5 goals in three of Western United's last four on the road.

Ultimately, I think the home side will come out on top, despite the contrasting form of the pair heading into Friday. Mark Rudan's men are in dire need of a victory to lift spirits after their hammering at the hands of Sydney FC, and they will want to keep the three-point gap they enjoy over seventh-placed Brisbane Roar.

Western United have belied their bottom-club status in recent weeks but they've still managed just one away win this season, all the way back in October. They've lost seven out of 10 away from western Melbourne with only Adelaide United collecting fewer points on their travels.

WSW have won the last three meetings between these sides by an aggregate of 7-0, boosted by a 5-0 victory at the CommBank Stadium in gameweek two of the current campaign.

Brandon Borrello to score first @ 11/2

The 28-year-old was only outscored by three players last season as he struck 13 times in the A-League Men's, and only Jamie Maclaren (17) scored more non-penalty goals.

Borrello is yet to find the net during a 2023/24 campaign heavily disrupted by injury though. He started the first five games but hobbled off early into the first Sydney derby and only returned to action on February 11.

It's taking a little while for the forward to get back up to speed but with top scorer Marcus Antonsson out injured, there is pressure on Borrello to find his feet soon.

The Australia international is 6/4 to score anytime on Friday, but I like the 11/2 for him to find the net first.

Borrello scored the first goal of the game seven times in the A-League Men's last season and he has been first on the scoresheet in each of the last six games where he has struck.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.