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A-League Round 12 Odds: A weekend to get excited about

Two of the biggest games of the season in the A-League will sort the men out from the boys, writes Andy Morris.

It's funny how sometimes the fixture list throws up exceptional rounds every so often. And round 12 will be a real highlight of the season, as top plays second while third plays fourth.

Potentially the best game of the season so far starts the round, when ladder leaders Melbourne Victory host the Central Coast Mariners at Telstra Dome.

Victory have responded superbly following their back-to-back defeats by Newcastle and Sydney in rounds eight and nine, by chalking up successive wins at Adelaide (3-2) and then last time out away to Queensland Roar thanks to Archie Thompson's 72nd minute goal.

Every time Melbourne has looked like it will stutter and fall off the pace it has responded with fine wins, and has notched up six victories in 11 matches to stand three points clear at the top of the table. But the Mariners know that top spot on the ladder is theirs for the taking if they win this time, as they have a significantly better goal difference.

These teams have already met once this season, at Bluetongue Stadium, where an injury-time leveller from Thompson - his second of the match - earned Victory a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

The Mariners will go into this game on a high after having beaten Adelaide 3-0 last time out, but the significant factor could well be their tendency to draw away from home. They have been unbeaten on the road so far, but have drawn four of their away matches, and I feel this one will end all-square, too.

Adelaide's setback last time out on the Central Coast was their second in a row, as they lost 3-2 at home to the Victory in round 10. Their previous form had taken them to the top of the ladder, and they are still only three points off top spot going into their meeting with fourth-placed Sydney FC.
Sydney have been unable to capitalise on their superb win at Melbourne in round nine, but go into this match just a point behind their South Australian rivals, having lost fewer games and with a goal difference that is six better than Adelaide's.

Sydney won this match 3-0 back in round five, but have been inconsistent since then and will want to banish the memory of their home defeat by lowly Wellington last time out. I can see these two teams cancelling each other out at Hindmarsh Stadium, so I am backing the draw again here.

Queensland go into their home game with Perth Glory on the back of an up-and-down sequence in their past four games. A home loss to Adelaide was followed by a win in Wellington, then another in Newcastle. But that two-game run came to an abrupt end next time when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Melbourne.

Perth emerged from their home game with Newcastle with a point thanks to a late equaliser from Eugene Dadi. But they sit rock bottom on the ladder, and lost the reverse fixture 3-0 at Members Equity Stadium so the wise money will be backing the Roar this time.

Wellington, having lost 2-0 in Perth in round 10, could hardly have expected to go to Sydney and win, but thanks to Shane Smeltz's 90th minute winner that is exactly what they did. They host a Jets side that has not won in three outings, and the Phoenix are the best bet in this one.

Tips: Melbourne to draw with Central Coast, Adelaide to draw with Sydney FC, Queensland to beat Perth, Wellington to beat Newcastle.