Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Melbourne City – A-League, February 13, 2021

Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne City meet for the first time this season on Saturday, February 13, with the Wanderers already sitting six points clear of City on the A-League ladder.

Carl Robinson’s men are currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten streak (3 wins, 3 draws), while Patrick Kisnorbo’s side heads into Saturday’s clash on the back of three straight defeats.

After discussing the bookmakers’ odds, I will share my Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Melbourne City prediction and betting pick.

Despite a string of disappointing results, Melbourne City (2.45) is still favored by the leading online sportsbooks to win this one. Having said that, the odds gap is extremely narrow here.

With six unbeaten games behind them and home-field advantage on their side, the Wanderers (2.70) will surely be confident of extending City’s dismal run and upsetting the odds on Saturday.

The Wanderers lost their opening game of the 2020/21 A-League season, suffering a narrow 0-1 defeat to newcomers Macarthur FC. But since then, the team has picked up a series of positive results.

Wins over Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners, and Melbourne Victory have seen Western Sydney move up to third in the standings, with three draws also coming along the way.

New signing Graham Dorrans has brought a sense of stability to the midfield, adding a couple of goals in the process. Forwards Simon Cox, James Troisi, and Bernie Ibini-Isei have also chipped in with goals and assists recently.

But at the other end of the pitch, the Wanderers have been even more impressive. Indeed, Robinson’s men have kept two clean sheets in their previous four games, with young goalkeeper Daniel Margush starring between the sticks.

We are only a few weeks into the 2020/21 A-League season, yet the early signs for the Wanderers are certainly promising.

.@wswanderersfc climb up the ladder but it's @CCMariners who stay top ?#ALeague ladder presented by Bunnings Warehouse. pic.twitter.com/QVDBquKDQD

— A-League (@ALeague) February 10, 2021

By contrast, Melbourne City has made a woeful start to the campaign. By their own high standards, Kisnorbo’s men have been nowhere near good enough during the early stages of the season.

Victories over Brisbane Roar and Western United have just about kept the club afloat, yet defeats to Adelaide United, Perth Glory, the Mariners, and the Jets have exposed the team’s weaknesses.

In fact, City heads into Saturday’s match on the back of three consecutive losses, with four defeats coming in their last five outings. Worse still, Kisnorbo’s men have failed to score on two occasions during that period.

We all know that City’s squad is packed with attacking talent. Jamie Maclaren – last season’s top scorer – has shown glimpses of his quality this term, but he hasn’t been able to pick up where he left off last year.

Still, the team continues to create plenty of goalscoring opportunities, so it will surely only be a matter of time before City turns things around, right?

There is no denying that the Wanderers have started the campaign in better fashion than City, but Robinson’s men haven’t exactly been blowing their opponents away.

On the other hand, City has lost each of their last two games by just a single goal, so it feels like a positive result is right around the corner for Kisnorbo’s men.

In my eyes, the draw is the way to go here. I’m expecting this to be a tight encounter.