Struggling Sydney in need of perfection in Perth

4Jan 2013

Betfair

Betfair Live Video brings you live action with a double helping of Australian soccer as well as a trip to the Portugese Primeira Liga.

Newcastle Jets vs Adelaide United

Saturday 06:30

Bah, Humbug. With the Jets and Adelaide only picking up three points respectively over the festive period, fans of both sides will be hoping for a better start to 2013... albeit at different ends of the table.

The visitors to the Hunter Stadium have had a tricky few weeks. Although lying in second place to pace setters Central Coast Mariners, their confidence would have taken a huge hit after a 6-1 annihilation at the hands of new boys Western Sydney Wanderers. Up until then things had been going swimmingly for the Reds, but follow that with a defeat to the Roar and John Kosmina was understandably left scratching his head. The first consecutive defeats for Adelaide this season would have left many of their fans wishing an end to 2012 - however with a five point gap separating them and third place, there is still plenty to smile about.

The reason behind the Jets stuttering season is no secret. With 28 league goals conceded and not one clean sheet to their name they find themselves in a lowly eight place. Coincide that with a back four that is always changing and defenders low on any sort of confidence expect this run to continue into the near future.

Striker Emile Heskey showed signs of brilliance early on in the season, but with his goals drying up the hosts will have their work cut out claiming three points on Saturday. All is not lost in terms of making the Final Series. Only one point behind sixth placed Roar, a good run of results could see them shoot up the table, the perfect incentive for Gary van Egmond's strugglers.

With Adelaide midfielder Dario Vidosic in the form of his life, expect many chances to be created for the away team. This game won't be short of goals, but the majority will be picked out of the Jet's net as Adelaide look to jet set to the top of the league.

Back Adelaide to win @ 2.64

Back over 3.5 goals @ 3.0

Perth Glory vs Sydney FC

Saturday 10:45

The history books favour the visitors strongly in this fixture - but with the current side two points adrift at the bottom of the table, Perth will be looking for revenge after their 2-1 defeat to Sydney back in October. A cagey game could be on the cards as the two lowest goal-scoring outfits clash at the NIB Stadium.

Perth started this season as one of the favourites for the title, but to say they haven't set the A-League alight would be an understatement. Lying mid table and averaging a goal a game, the Glory supporters have had a frustrating campaign so far but will be confident their side can cement their place in the Final Series no matter how uninspiring their performances have been. Manager Ian Ferguson will have his concerns come Saturday morning however, due to the well-established defensive partnership of Michael Thwaite and Bas van den Brink missing due to injury and suspension.

Sydney are running out of time to make the end of season Finals and with an injury list the length of Harbour Bridge, it is looking increasingly unlikely that Del Piero will be celebrating come the end of his first A-League season. With a staggering 30 goals being conceded in their fourteen fixtures so far, it is no wonder the Sky Blues sit rock bottom with a minus fourteen goal-difference.

With both sides low on confidence and healthy players, a single goal could prove to be the difference come Saturday morning. Sydney won't go down without a fight, but another loss here will all but end their realistic chances of securing a Finals spot.

Back Perth to win @ 1.67

Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.98

Sporting Braga vs Moreirense

Sunday 18:00

It's third vs bottom in Braga as the hosts look to keep in touching distance of the ever so familiar pace setters - whilst the struggling visitors look to end their run of ten games without a victory.

Sporting Braga will be more than happy with the start they have made this campaign. They lie in familiar territory, third position just off the pace of Porto and Benfica - a position they found themselves in the whole of last season. Scoring just as many goals as the defending champions, it has been their defensive frailties that have let them down at times this season, losing back-to-back games at the end of November which allowed them to slip off the title pace.

Striker Eder has made a real impact after his summer switch from Academica, and with seven goals to his name already he is sure of a few chances on Sunday evening. The experience of Hugo Viana pulling the strings in midfield has also added to the potency of the Braga attack.

New boys Moreirense have struggled to adapt to the pace of the Primeira Liga so far this season. After gathering five points from their first three fixtures of the season, things were looking good for the 'Green and White Army' - however with only three points taken from the previous nine games, it's time for coach Jorge Casquilha to work out how to stay afloat in this competitive division.

French striker Nabil Ghilas has scored half of their league goals this season, in an attack that has relied heavily on the service of Portuguese midfield duo Goncalves and Espinho who along with Ghilas have started every game so far. Whether they have the squad depth or quality to survive in this league is yet to be seen, but a result against an attacking Braga outfit looks highly unlikely.

Back Braga to win @ 1.34

Back Braga to win 3-0 @ 9.6

Estoril vs Benfica

Sunday 20:15

The Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota welcomes the league leaders in a Sunday evening fixture that will wet the appetite of an expectant home crowd.

After gaining promotion to the top flight last season, Estoril have adapted to the high life impressively in the early stages of the season. Sitting in sixth place and off the back of three wins in five, the Canaries will fancy their chances to cause the upset of the season inflicting mighty Benfica's first league defeat of the campaign. Striker Luis Leal has impressed in front of goal with a scoring record of one every other appearance this season and won't fear the challenge he is up against on Sunday.

Manager Marco Silva won't allow his team to get carried away so early on in the season. Although a push towards the Europe League spots is a possibility in this vain of form, he will know that survival is the main objective for this season and the quicker this is achieved the more they can concentrate on consolidating their place as a Primeira Liga force.

Benfica and Porto are once again slugging it out in a two horse race for the prestigious league trophy. Both unbeaten, scoring freely and defensively solid - it is hard to see any team troubling either of them... except for each other. With this clash on the horizon, the Benfiquistas would be forgiven for underestimating the weekend's opponents and failing to give them the respect they warrant. However, Boss Jorge Jesus will be 100% focused on the trip to Estoril and will be confident red-hot striker Oscar Cardozo will add to his 13 league goals already this season in a dominant performance.

Benfica are comfortable favourites for this fixture at 1.38, but with Estoril flying high after holding Porto to a 2-2 draw in the League Cup and with Benfica having played midweek an upset could quite possibly be on the cards...

Back Estoril to win @ 9.8

Back 1-0 Estoril @ 27.0