Newcastle Jets vs. Melbourne City Betting Preview – A-League, February 7, 2021

Believe it or not – the Jets will actually leapfrog Melbourne City in the A-League table if they claim all three points at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday, February 7.

Both sides have made a poor start to the 2020/21 season, although it’s fair to say that City is the team that is underperforming at the moment.

I discuss the bookies’ odds before sharing my Newcastle Jets vs. Melbourne City prediction and betting pick.

Understandably, the leading online sportsbooks are favoring Melbourne City (2.35) here. But the price for the away win feels unusually high for this matchup.

The Jets (2.85) only trail City by two points in the standings, making the big odds for both the home win and the draw (3.50) seem pretty attractive at first glance.

Let’s take a closer look at both sides.

Given that Newcastle lost their opening four games this term, things have started to look a little brighter for Craig Deans’ men lately. Still, they find themselves rooted to the foot of the table.

The Jets ended their four-game losing streak by picking up their first win of the season a fortnight ago, beating Wellington Phoenix 2-1. Last time out, they managed to hold Western Sydney Wanderers to a 1-1 draw.

Despite recording 17 shots against the Wanderers, Newcastle ended up scoring with their only attempt on target. Once again, Deans’ men were staring defeat in the face. But a late Roy O’Donovan penalty earned them a precious point.

The Jets have come close in all of their games this term. Sure, they may have lost four of their six outings so far. But they haven’t suffered a heavy defeat this season. In fact, each of their losses has come by just a single-goal margin, so it could be argued that they’ve been slightly unfortunate.

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On the flip side, Melbourne City has played one game less than Newcastle. But having picked up six points from a possible 15 this term, last year’s runner-up is two points ahead of the Jets.

Still, considering their reputation, Patrick Kisnorbo’s men won’t be happy with the fact that they already find themselves six points behind first-place Central Coast Mariners.

Indeed, it was the Mariners who inflicted a third loss on City this season. Kisnorbo’s side was cruising along at 2-0 on Wednesday, with goals from Adrian Luna and Jamie Maclaren putting City in complete control heading into half-time.

However, three Central Coast goals saw City throw away their lead and eventually lose the game 3-2.

Having already lost to Adelaide United and Perth Glory since the turn of the year, there is no denying that Melbourne City’s campaign is on the rocks.

Kisnorbo’s men are looking like shadows of their former selves right now. Behind Sydney FC, City was the second-best team in the A-League by a considerable margin last season. But that just isn’t the case this year.

The Jets have pushed all of their opponents close this term, so I’m expecting the home side to frustrate City and snatch a point on Sunday.