Tight at the Top: A-League Men Soccer Titles Still Up for Grabs
Apr 2, 2024, 5:21AM
As we approach the business end of the A-League men’s soccer season, the race for the A-League Premiers title and the qualification for the playoffs of the A-League Men final series remain tight. With only a few rounds of matches left in the regular season, fans and sports bettors expect a tense run-in for both titles.
We'll look at the teams still actively competing for these honours and the odds punters can expect on them according to the best betting sites ranked here, as the battle for glory intensifies.
A-League Men Premiers
The 2023/24 A-League Men regular season, decided between early October 2023 and April 2024, consists of 26 rounds. The 12 competing sides, 11 from Australia and one from New Zealand, play each other twice or three times each, with the victors earning three points and drawn results carrying a point each per team.
At the end of the regular season, the club topping the log earns the title of A-League Premiers, receiving the coveted Premier's Plate and a spot in the AFC Champions League. In 2023/24, as we head into the final rounds of fixtures, New Zealand's Wellington Phoenix sits on top of the league table, three points clear of Gosford's Central Coast Mariners.
Wellington Phoenix, at 4/1, are Premier's Plate joint-favourites alongside The Mariners with the online bookmakers but, with a slightly superior goal difference, a single slip by The Phoenix during the remaining fixtures could see the NSW side overtake them on the log.
Premiers value bet
A potential Premiers value bet for sports bettors comes in the form of third-placed Macarthur FC from South Western Sydney, which has flown under the radar for much of the season. Although eight points behind the Kiwi leaders, a strong run during the closing game weeks, coupled with some nerves on the part of the two teams above them, could mean Macarthur's 14/1 odds may be worth a small flutter.
A-League Men Final Series
The A-League Men finals series will commence on the completion of the regular season. The playoff tournament featuring the A-League round-robin's top six finishers will compete in a series of knockout fixtures to decide which two sides will contest the Grand Final and which the 2024 A-League Champions Trophy holder will be.
Although the Melbourne Victory has enjoyed a mediocre regular season campaign in 2023/24, positioned fourth in the league a full nine points off the Wellington Phoenix lead, online betting shops make the four-time Grand Finals winners favourites to claim a fifth Champions Trophy, with odds of 9/2.
The A-League Men Premiers joint favourites, The Phoenix and the defending champions, The Mariners, cannot be separated here either, both next best in the betting at 5/1. The other three teams favoured to claim the playoff positions, five-time winners Sydney FC (7/1), Melbourne City (8/1) and Western Sydney Wanderers (8/1) have only slightly shorter odds than the knockout stage underdogs, Macarthur FC (10/1).
Final Series value bet
Like in the Premiers, Macarthur FC could be a value bet option, both to make the playoffs and for the Champions Trophy itself. Having qualified for the A-League Men Final series only once before, in 2021, the 5-year-old Sydney club has upset the odds regularly in 2023/24.
Although performing well in the A-League regular season, Macarthur FC is continually underestimated, and its 10/1 price to win the Grand Final is something sports bettors could potentially use to their advantage. At 7/1, with a rich and successful history in the competition, writing off Sydney's other club, Sydney FC, would be dangerous and it too could be worth a punt.
Conclusion
With half a dozen fixtures left before the A-League Men regular season ends, sports bettors should begin considering their strategies and wagers for the run-in, while watching the form of the potential Final Series qualifiers. Like the Premiers' title contest has been all season, the lead-up to the 2024 A-League Champions Trophy will likely be hotly contested, with results often difficult to call.
