Two willing affairs played out during the week, with Western Sydney the big winners after earning three points in the west.

Round 15 is as good as any other thus far in season 2024/25, with Auckland at home to ladder leading City and then in Adelaide on Wednesday, during what will be a tricky week.

Elsewhere, Western United and Western Sydney will look to keep their impressive runs going and Sydney FC should whack a few past the Roar defence in what looks a mismatch. The Saturday night Original Rivarlry sees Victory on the road in South Australia and Macarthur and Wellington fight for important points on Monday night.

Good luck with your tips for the round and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to keep the voice of the people on the heels of leader Mike Tuckerman.

Here the tips and thoughts of the panel on the six matches across the next six days.

Mike Tuckerman

United, Western Sydney, Auckland, Sydney, Adelaide, Draw, Draw

Western United coach John Aloisi probably wishes his team didn’t leave things to the last minute to win, but the Melbourne outfit are suddenly the most exciting in the league. They should have too much quality for a Newcastle Jets side that has improved in recent weeks without ever really looking like they’re genuinely capable of troubling the big guns.

Western Sydney Wanderers have already been active in the transfer market, but coach Alen Stajcic will be more pleased with his side’s 2-1 win over Perth Glory in midweek. Both sides will go into this clash somewhat fatigued on the back of a testing holiday schedule, but it’s hard to see how the Wanderers don’t have too much class against a Mariners side that doesn’t have the most strength in depth.

Have the wheels come off Auckland FC? After a scoreless draw against Melbourne Victory, the Kiwi side were overtaken by Melbourne City at the top of the standings when they went down 1-0 to Perth Glory last weekend. The good news for coach Steve Corica is that his side is back at Mount Smart Stadium, and they’ll fancy their chances of taking all three points against an injury-riddled City outfit that will run out of steam at some point.

Sydney FC demolished Central Coast Mariners 4-1 last weekend, and coach Ufuk Talay’s biggest concern is arguably complacency. The Sky Blues have plenty of firepower in reserve, and they won’t be overly concerned by a visit from cellar-dwellers Brisbane Roar. Something needs to turn for Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich, who is fast in danger of losing the dressing room. Will it happen at Allianz Stadium? It’s hard to see anything but a home victory.

Joseph Lolley of Sydney celebrates scoring (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

A sold-out Coopers Stadium awaits a gargantuan clash between two of the oldest rivals in the league. Adelaide go into on the back of a couple of narrow wins, but they’ll need no extra incentive against a Melbourne Victory side with their backs against the wall. Is Arthur Diles the man to lead the Victorian giants to glory? I’m tipping the Reds to take all three points from this marquee Saturday night showdown.

This one’s on my birthday. I’ll give myself an early present with a Simpsons-inspired “too close to call”.
Another midweek fixture, and the question going into a clash between two of the league’s top teams is just how fatigued will they be? Adelaide will hope their travails against Melbourne Victory won’t have taken too much out of them, while Auckland FC look a more damaging outfit at home. You’d expect these two sides to feature in finals football this season, and I doubt either will give too much away. Hard to pick a clear winner.

Stuart Thomas

United, Western Sydney, Auckland, Sydney, Adelaide, Macarthur, Adelaide

The Jets are at the point where the wins must begin to flow or the top six becomes an impossibility. United at home is a tricky one for them. The rise of the Wanderers I predicted under Alen Stajcic appears to be happening before our very eyes. Central Coast were outclassed by Sydney last week and will be so again.

Auckland will enjoy being back at home and face a stern test against the consistent and undermanned Melbourne City. The location might just get them the three points in this one. Sydney will put at least four on Brisbane and the Roar coach will be sacked next week. “The coach has our full support” until the day he is sacked. I’ve heard it all before.

Adelaide will play in front of a packed house when Victory come to town Saturday night and it looms as one of the games of the season. The Reds win on an emotional night. As it will be for the Bulls when they knock off a spluttering Phoenix. I saw nothing mid-week against Sydney which suggests they can beat the top-six bound Macarthur.

Adelaide’s Archie Goodwin celebrates with team mates. Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

In what could be the most exciting week of A-League action ever played in Adelaide, the Reds will score heavily against a tired Auckland on Wednesday night. Two full houses in four days would be something special for the league.

David Shilovsky

United, Wanderers, Auckland, Sydney, Adelaide, Macarthur, Adelaide

Western United host the Jets to start us off this round. John Aloisi’s side will be full of confidence after the dramatic win over Victory and should take the three points at home.

Wanderers return to CommBank Stadium as the Mariners make the relatively quick trip down the freeway to Parramatta. Western Sydney were perhaps lucky to win in Perth, while the champions are mired in some pretty uninspiring form. Mariners will be desperate but I’m backing the home team.

The first of two tricky games for the new boys is the visit of Melbourne City. Should be an interesting game and I like Auckland’s chances of a win.

Another appetiser comes to A-League fans from Allianz Stadium with the Sky Blues facing Brisbane. Desperately out of form, I can’t see Roar keeping out Sydney’s attacking threats.

Then it’s the prime time Original Rivalry, set up perfectly for Victory to waltz into Coopers and return to winning ways. Adelaide should be confident at home, however, and really should be top of the league if it wasn’t for the collapses against Sydney and Wanderers.

On Monday, the Bulls welcome the struggling Wellington to Campbelltown. Macarthur could really kick on this season, starting with a victory against Giancarlo Italiano’s men.

And finally, it’s more midweek football to break up the work week with an interesting clash between Adelaide and Auckland. Both teams will be tired after playing on Saturday, the Reds not needing to travel but potentially bruised from the Original Rivalry. I’ll go with the home side to make it a perfect round.

Andrew Prentice

United, Western Sydney, Auckland, Sydney, Draw, Macarthur, Adelaide

Western sparkled in their 4-3 thriller against Victory last week. Newcastle promised much but delivered little against Macarthur, a bit like an online shopping warehouse that goes broke the moment you spend up big with them. Neither side is known for it’s watertight defending but Western have more paths to goal and should get the points.

The Wanderers have only lost once since Round 5 and can put distance between themselves and the Mariners on the table with a win on Friday night. However, that one loss happened at home on New Year’s Day against Macarthur.

The Mariners have taken their fans on a thrill ride in the last two seasons, but the indications are that the well is drying up. Attacking options are limited, with two-goal Grand Final hero Ryan Edmondson seemingly out of favour and Alou Kuol struggling for goals. They’ll need to find goals in this one because the Wanderers don’t often draw a blank.

Jake Brimmer (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Auckland were shocked by Perth last Saturday. Their early season form has slipped and they now occupy third spot in a league ladder where only three points separates the top six. City have flown right under the radar to the top on the back of a miserly defence, despite a crowded treatment room.

With the two best defences in the league shaping up on Saturday, a gritty 1-0 home win will send The Port home happy.

Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich got the dreaded “backing of the board” this week. Former coaches around the nation instinctively felt their back for knife wounds in sympathy. Brisbane visit a Sydney side who are unbeaten in their last six games, which in this league is akin to winning the lottery.

Ufuk Talay rested some key personnel for the midweek trip to Wellington and with transfer window speculation running rife, it’ll be interesting to see who makes the XI on Saturday.  It’s hard to see the league’s top scorers being stopped by an out-of-sorts Brisbane side.

The original rivalry at Hindmarsh Stadium is usually an explosive affair. Victory slipped up against Western, conceding twice in stoppage time. Game management sessions might have been high on the coaching clipboard in the past week.

Adelaide are equal first and loving life, with the luxury of having a striker like Luka Jovanovic come off the bench and score winners in successive games. This is required viewing for fans on Saturday night, and I’m leaning towards a high-scoring draw.

Wellington arrested a slump with a 0-0 draw midweek against the free-scoring Sydney. Debutant keeper Alby Kelly-Heald impressed, and he can expect a busy Monday in Campbelltown. Jed Drew is in red-hot form for the Bulls, who boast an attack capable of dismantling defences tighter than Wellington’s has been of late.

The Phoenix’s attacking returns have been drab, with Kosta Barbarouses having a lot asked of his veteran legs. The midweek reset might be a turning point for Wellington, but I favour the Bulls to take the points.

Macarthur FC’s Jed Drew (Photo by Texi Smith)

The bonus mid-weeker is a beauty, a clash of the frontrunners with contrasting styles. While only one point separated these two before the weekend fixtures, Adelaide had scored 10 more goals than the Black Knights, whose “None Shall Pass” credo adopted from the Monty Python character of the same name has been far more successful than the beleaguered knight himself.

I’m tipping Adelaide based on the fact they don’t have to travel, which is a huge bonus in the crowded holiday schedule. Their attack will inflict enough flesh wounds on the Auckland defence to prevail (and if you have no idea what I’m referencing, your life is simply not complete – go and watch The Holy Grail right now)

Texi Smith

United, Western Sydney, City, Sydney, Victory, Wellington, Adelaide

This exciting round of A-League action kicks off with the sort of fixture that trips up even the most seasoned tipster.

The silky Eli Adams firs the Jets into the lead against Newcastle with a sumptuous finish on the run, and the paltry Ironbark Fields crowd suffers through 80 minutes until Hiroshi Ibusuki smashes a shot in from nowhere, and Noah Botic twists and turns before firing home in injury time. A totally undeserved win for the hosts.

Central Coast Mariners were in a gifting mood last week against Sydney FC and they might be again this week when they travel to Western Sydney Wanderers. The home team will set themselves up in a very attacking formation and throw caution to the wind, two goals up at the break and coasting.

The Mariners threaten to get back into the game, but the closing stages sees Wanderers score at will and a five-goal pasting is administered to send the visitors home with nothing.

Auckland FC are on the brink of a slump. If they fail to take care of Melbourne City on Saturday afternoon, they risk being steamrollered by the teams on their tail. A contest worthy of a top-of-the-table clash, this one does not disappoint, and Guillermo May’s strike is nullified by Nathaniel Atkinson at the break.

Up steps Zane Scheiber with a rocket to win the game in the second half and City maintain their position at the top of the pile, despite having played two more games than those behind.

Sydney FC have the opportunity to fill their boots in the Saturday teatime clash with cellar dwellers Brisbane Roar. Despite giving teams a run for their money this season, the visitors will be utterly demolished by the firepower of Joe Lolley and form marksman Adrian Segecic.

Adrian Segecic has been in sparkling form for Sydney FC. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

What a game for the Saturday night prime TV spot – Adelaide United hosting Melbourne Victory in an original derby for the ages. The home team are on fire this season, but have shown that they can be picked apart, and tonight is the turn of Victory. Stefan Mauk’s scintillating form fails to inspire, and two defensive mistakes costs the home team dearly, Zinedine Machach taking advantage to send the three points back to Melbourne.

Wellington Phoenix’s early season form has disappeared. Macarthur FC continue to flatter to deceive, coming up with unlikely wins when they are under the pump, but the table doesn’t lie.

This Monday night fixture in front of a meagre Campbelltown crowd fails to ignite, and we have a turgid midfield encounter littered with mistakes. One of those is punished in the blink of an eye as the game looks to be heading for a draw, and Kosta Barbarouses rolls the ball into the empty net to leave the Bull Pen with their heads in their hands.

The two teams who are lagging behind with fixtures meet on Wednesday night. Adelaide United will be keen to atone for the horror show against Victory at the weekend, and Auckland FC’s slump will be confirmed as they lose their second game in a row against teams around them at the top.

Archie Goodwin is in wizard mode for this one. Dylan Pierias scores a worldie. Auckland are soundly beaten and must now face the fact that the A-League premiership wasn’t a foregone conclusion.

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