Auckland vs Adelaide United Prediction

Right then, let's have a proper look at this A-League clash between Auckland and Adelaide United. Both sides are making decent starts to the season, but there's a right old story in the numbers here.

Auckland are sitting pretty in third spot, unbeaten after two games with a win and a draw under their belt. They've been solid at the back lately, keeping clean sheets in half their last 10 matches and only letting in 0.8 goals per game on average. They just ground out a 1-0 win over Western Sydney and shared the spoils in a 0-0 with Melbourne Victory. Not exactly free-scoring, but they're getting the job done.

Adelaide, on the other hand, are a different kettle of fish altogether. They're averaging 1.6 goals scored per game, which sounds decent until you see they're shipping 2.3 goals per game! Their away form is shocking stuff - zero wins in their last seven away trips, conceding nearly 2.5 goals per game on the road. They just lost 2-1 to Macarthur, though they did show some fight by beating Sydney 2-1 before that.

Now here's where it gets interesting. These two have only met twice before, and both were absolute crackers! A 4-4 thriller and a 2-2 draw. Both teams scored in both matches, and both went over 2.5 goals. Seems like whenever these sides meet, the floodgates open.

Auckland's home record isn't exactly fortress-like (33% win rate), but they're usually tidy defensively. Adelaide's away record is proper dodgy though - they leak goals like a sieve on their travels. You've got to fancy Auckland to score against that defence, and Adelaide do find the net regularly even if they can't stop anyone at the other end.

The bookies have Auckland as favourites at 1.73, which makes sense given Adelaide's travel sickness. But I'm looking at the Both Teams to Score market here - it's priced at 1.75 and looks tasty given what we know.