Sydney FC vs. Wellington Phoenix Betting Preview – A-League, February 8, 2021

Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix met on the opening day of the 2020/21 A-League season, with the defending champions snatching a 2-1 victory back in early January.

The two teams clash again on Monday, February 8, as both sides aim to build on wins in the previous round.

After checking out the betting odds, I will provide my Sydney FC vs. Wellington Phoenix prediction and pick.

The leading online betting sites have kept their A-League odds pretty tight this season, yet Sydney FC (1.80) is the clear favorite to win this match.

However, the Skys Blues haven’t exactly hit the ground running this term, while Wellington (3.85) hasn’t done too badly. With that in mind, the high price for the draw (3.55) stands out here.

Sydney FC followed up their opening-day victory over the Nix by recording two subpar results, at least by their own high standards. The defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Sydney rivals WSW before suffering a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Mariners.

However, Steve Corica’s side bounced back in style last weekend.

A double from Patrick Wood and a goal from Milos Ninkovic saw the Sky Blues crush Macarthur 3-0 at Campbelltown Stadium. Sure, the Bulls played the majority of the game with ten men, but Sydney FC still had to get the job done.

Wood instantly became the club’s top scorer for the season last time out, with his brace giving him a solid record of two goals in just 59 minutes of A-League action. Sydney FC has some serious experience in their ranks, but the 18-year-old has been the star of the show so far this term.

Outstanding long-range strikes from Calem Mieuwenhof and Luke Brattan saw the Sky Blues beat Wellington last month, despite the Kiwis’ best efforts.

Missed the action between @CCMariners and @WgtnPhoenixFC?

Watch the highlights on YouTube ? https://t.co/4aveMysNzM#ALeague #CCMvWEL #CCMFC #Nix pic.twitter.com/02jvBgzaY6

— A-League (@ALeague) January 31, 2021

The Nix can take confidence from the fact that they dominated possession and created plenty of goalscoring opportunities against Sydney FC last time around.

Mirza Muratovic scored the New Zealanders’ only goal on that occasion, although the team managed to rack up 22 shots, six of which hit the target.

If Ufuak Talay’s men put in a similar performance on Monday, they will almost certainly find themselves causing the reigning champs more problems.

Wellington was held to a 1-1 draw by Macarthur on Matchday 2, with a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle coming in their next outing. However, the Nix picked up their first win of the season last time out, beating the Mariners 2-1.

Following a slow start to the campaign, Ulises Davila has now scored in back-to-back games. The Mexican will be confident of adding to his tally on Monday, following two goals against this opponent last season.

Having taken everything into consideration, the price for the Sydney FC win is a bit too low for my liking. Corica’s men have made an unconvincing start to the 2020/21 campaign, meaning they could easily drop points on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Nix have shown glimpses of what they are capable of in recent weeks. They were unlucky to lose the reverse fixtures last month, so I can see them picking up a draw this time around.