Game 2

Melbourne City FC vs Newcastle Jets

This game is full circle on the pretty shocking 1-1 opening round finish between these two teams. Their result that night was the same, but since then they have had very different storylines so far.

Melbourne City sits atop the league table ahead of second place by four points. The Jets sit in seventh place with a mere four points to their name. That 1-1 draw had City fans scratching their head at what the season would hold and Jets fans hoping for a miracle season.

If the Jets won the remainder of their five games and Melbourne City lost the rest of theirs the Jets would still not catch City in total points. The season is a long way from that opening round and it still has a long way to go. But a 1-1 draw between these two teams now seems a lot more far fetched than it did back in November. 

 

Key Matchup

Gema Simon vs Emily van Egmond

The Jets have recorded zero clean sheets this season and average 1.7 goals against per game. Newcastle has not won a game since round 4 and that was against winless Perth Glory. To put it simply they desperately need to keep their opponents out of their net and the leader of the backline is skipper, Gema Simon. 

If Newcastle wants to earn a similar result they had last time against City then Simon has got to be sharp for them. City will get plenty of offensive chances, but Simon will need to command her teammates and make sure CIty’s chances are from difficult angles.

One of the main players the Jets will have to stop is one of their former teammates, Emily van Egmond. She is tied for third in the league with four goals, one of which came against Newcastle in their first meeting. In that game van Egmond only had two shots which is par for her how she shoots, not often but efficient. She has only shot the ball 12 times with nine on frame and four hitting the back of the net.

It will not be enough to limit van Egmond to a few shots, Newcastle needs to stop van Egmond from even thinking about taking a shot if they want to win this game.

 

Score Prediction

3-0 Melbourne City

City still has not lost a game and they have only tied once, but it would be very unlikely for the Jets to tie them twice. Melbourne is dangerous and looking like the best team in the league. Melbourne City has not conceded a goal since round four and that seems like a streak that will stay alive after this round as well.