The first fixture of the A-League elimination final takes place this weekend as Central Coast Mariners host Macarthur FC at the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford.
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium (Gosford)
Key Statistics
Central Coast Mariners finished the regular season in third place. They have three wins from their last five games. At home, they have recorded only one win in their last four games
Macarthur FC finished the regular season in sixth place. They are unbeaten in their last four away games
Central Coast Mariners
After sealing a third-place finish in the regular season following a two-nil win over Wester United in their last game, Central Coast Mariners are now faced with the task of overcoming Macarthur FC to progress to the next round of the final series.
The Mariners enjoyed an excellent campaign, winning 12 of their games and conceding 31 times–the third-best defence in the league.
They will hope to bring that consistency into this round as they look to progress beyond this stage of the competition.
They head into this game unbeaten in the three matches they have played against Macarthur FC. They are now looking to make it four in four and, in that way, establish their dominance over their new opponents.
Gianni Stensness is suffering from an injury at the moment and is unavailable for selection for this fixture. Meanwhile, Alou Kuol and Lewis Miller have recovered to put themselves in the frame for selection on Saturday.
Possible line-ups
Mark Birighitti; Jack Clisby, Kye Rowles, Ruon Tongyik, Stefan Nigro; Daniel Bouman, Josh Nisbet, Oliver Bozanic, Daniel De Silva; Alou Kuol, Marco Urena.
Unavailable
Ruon Tongyik
Macarthur FC
A-League rookies Macarthur FC exceeded expectations in their first A-League season as they finished in the top-half in the standings.
The Bulls could have finished higher than sixth-place but suffered a shock 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wellington Phoenix last week to condemn them to a six-place finish.
However, they head into this tie with a position in the Final Series and with a game to win.
Ante Milicic’s side are unbeaten in their last four away games and are hoping to extend that run when they travel to Gosford.
With many people writing them off, they will want to prove that they can mix up with other quality A-League teams by picking up a win here.
A straight red card for Loic Puyo means that he is not available for Milicic, while Nicholas Suman remains the only injury concern for Macarthur FC.
Possible line-ups
Adam Federici; James Meredith, Mark Milligan, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Ivan Franjic; Benat Etxebarria, Denis Genreau; Moudi Najjar, Tommy Oar, Markel Susaeta; Matt Derbyshire.
Unavailable
Denis Genreau
Betting Odds
Central Coast Mariners : Draw : Macarthur FC :: 1.95 : 3.50 : 4.00
| Central Coast Mariners Goal | Macarthur FC Goal | Betting Odds |
| 1 | 1 | 6.50 |
| 1 | 0 | 7.00 |
| 2 | 1 | 8.50 |
| 2 | 0 | 9.00 |
| 0 | 0 | 10.00 |
| 0 | 1 | 11.00 |
Prediction
Mariners 2-1 Macarthur
