Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne Victory: Round 16 Preview

The Newcastle Jets will attempt to inject pride (and a small dose of hope) into their cascading A-League campaign tonight, as they meet second-placed Melbourne Victory. But it’s a critical game for the visitors, who are a point behind Adelaide and need a win to regain the lead.

Adding to the pressure for Melbourne are the Queensland Roar, who are on equal points, and the Central Coast Mariners, who trail the Victory and Roar by a point. It’s very tight in there, but it’s deceptive: Melbourne have a game in hand.

Newcastle’s recent form has been disastrous. The Jets haven’t won since Round 8 – incidentally, that was against Melbourne. On that occasion, Newcastle were clearly the better team, but have struggled to maintain decent form since them. They now sit on 12 points at the bottom of the table, with 7th placed Perth Glory on 16.

Archie Thompson is a 50% chance to play tonight, while Ernie Merrick has Evan Berger and Carlos Hernandez back at his disposal. It’s a full strength squad bar one, but that one player missing is arguably the most significant cog in the system. A fortnight ago against Perth Glory, Melbourne had chances but didn’t take them; the week before that, Thompson had an off game and Melbourne looked pathetic in the final third as a result. Archie’s presence and form remains a key component of Melbourne’s set-up.

My tips for the weekend:

• Wellington Phoenix to beat Central Coast Mariners. Two sides with everything to play for, but the Phoenix are at home and in desperate need of a win. An embarrassing loss and a draw last week have it on 19 points, chasing the 4th placed Mariners by 3 points. They’ve beat the Mariners before, and I think they’ll do it again tonight.
• Newcastle Jets to collapse before the Melbourne Victory. Both have had poor games lately, but a week’s rest and an almost full squad give Melbourne no excuses. They need a win, and I think they’ll get it.
• Sydney FC to draw with Perth Glory. Perth need a win to keep their finals chances alive, and Sydney need one to get back into the top 4. I don’t think either will get what they need.