Western United vs Perth Glory Prediction: Botic to bag a brace

After a four-game winning run was interrupted by a three-week break, Western United will look to get back on the victory saddle this Saturday (08:00, TNT Sports 1) when they host Perth Glory at Ironbark Fields. The Glory lost all three matches in March, suffering a 3-1 defeat at Central Coast Mariners last Sunday.

Below are my Western United vs Perth Glory predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this Australian A-League Men's contest in Tarneit.

Team News

Abel Walatee was substituted in the 27th minute of Western United's 3-1 win at Central Coast Mariners on February 28 and missed his side's victories over Wellington Phoenix (4-1) and Newcastle Jets (2-6) in March. The 21-year-old remains out of action due to injury, but with Ben Garuccio back from an issue that caused him to miss three straight games, Walatee is John Aloisi's only absentee this weekend.

Football Odds

Sebastian Pasquali hasn't made any of Western United's last four matchday squads, but the 25-year-old midfielder is on the long list for the visit of Perth Glory and will hope to make the final 18 on Saturday.

Aloisi could name the same starting XI that dismantled the Jets in Newcastle last month, with Noah Botic and Hiroshi Ibusuki, who have scored 11 and nine league goals, respectively, this season, spearheading their attack at Ironbark Fields.

Lachie Wales (Achilles), Zach Lisolajski (ankle), David Williams (knee), Takuya Okamoto and Adriano Lebib (both unspecified) are out injured for Perth Glory, who have welcomed Belgian defender Anas Hamzaoui back following a two-game absence.

Fellow defender, 21-year-old Kaelan Majekodunmi also makes the extended squad but made the most recent of his two league appearances this season on January 25, so he looks a prime candidate to be left out of the matchday 18.

Luke Amos was withdrawn at half-time of Glory's loss in Gosford last week, so it remains to be seen whether he starts on Saturday. Taras Gomulka replaced the former Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers midfielder against the Mariners and could be thrown in from the beginning this weekend by boss David Zdrilic.

Western United vs Perth Glory Odds

Western United are in search of a fifth successive victory and they are 2/7 to get it on Saturday. Those odds imply a win probability of 77.8%, while Glory are 7/1, or a 12.5% chance, to end a nine-game winless run by taking all three points in Tarneit.

The draw is priced at 4/1, both teams to score - which has been a winner in the last three head-to-heads - at 4/7, and over 3/5 total goals at 4/5.

Botic (4/5) and Ibusuki (5/6) head the anytime goalscorer market with last season's Golden Boot winner, Adam Taggart, first up for the visitors at 7/5.

Player to Score Two or More Goals - Noah Botic (WU) @ 4/1

Botic has struck in seven of his last nine games - netting eight times - to edge past the likes of Joe Lolley, Archie Goodwin and Nicolas Milanovic at the top of the goalscoring charts.

During this hot streak, 23-year-old has only failed to score in a 2-0 defeat to ALM leaders Auckland and a 4-1 victory over Wellington Phoenix, and in a 3-1 victory over the Jets on January 17, he bagged his first - and so far only - brace of the season.

I like his chances of doubling that number on Saturday, though, up against the worst defence - and possibly side - in the league.

Glory are tied on 11 points with Brisbane Roar but are bottom by virtue of an inferior goal difference, while Roar have played two fewer games.

Perth have shipped 51 goals across their 22 league matches this season, averaging 2.3 per game, which is at least six more than any other side.

Zdrilic's charges have conceded at least three times in their last three games, and in the first two, an opposing player scored twice. Ayden Hammond bagged a brace in Western Sydney Wanderers' 4-1 thrashing of Glory on March 2, and 13 days later, Roar midfielder Samuel Klein struck twice in a 3-1 victory at HBF Park.

There have been six other instances of a player scoring twice in one game against Glory this season, making it eight in 22 matches this season, and one of those was against Western United, whose towering Japanese striker Ibusuki was at the double in his side's 3-1 win in Perth last November.

I think it's the turn of Botic to score twice on Saturday, with the Australian in tremendous form since mid-January.

He should be confident of netting at least one this weekend, and a brace isn't out of the question against a beleaguered defence. At 4/1, implying a 20% probability, I'm taking Botic to bag a brace at Ironbark Fields.

Home Team Total Goals - Western United Over 3.5 Goals @ 9/4

Western United have scored at least four goals in their last two matches, firing four past the Nix before hitting the Jets for six. They've notched at least three times in their previous four contests, and 28.6% (six) of their 21 league games this season have finished with Aloisi's side on four or more goals.

Glory, meanwhile, have shipped 10 strikes across their last three games, and they've conceded over 3.5 goals on four occasions this term.

Saturday's hosts have two of the league's most prolific forwards in their ranks, while Riku Danzaki and Rhys Bozinovski, who have scored four goals apiece this season, were both on target in United's last outings, twice in the latter's case.

At home, over 3.5 goals looks achievable for a side gunning for the Premiers' Plate.

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