The Central Coast Mariners are propping up the table in the A-League with just 13 points from 63 possible. It has been a rotten season at the Central Coast Stadium and pressure is surely growing on manager Alen Stajcic.
On Friday, the Mariners will welcome A-League high-flyers Melbourne City to the Central Coast Stadium in a big match to kick off the soccer weekend Down Under. Melbourne City go into the weekend in second place and 10 points back of league leaders Sydney FC.
A win for Erick Mombaerts’ team would potentially pull them closer to Sydney in the table. However, Sydney have two games in hand.
The match at Central Coast Stadium will be played behind closed doors as the country limits fan gatherings due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Mombaerts, who joined Melbourne City at the start of the season, won’t be in attendance either.
The 64-year-old coach is considered “high-risk” and contracting the disease could be life threatening. Therefore, he will self-isolate and miss Melbourne City’s next two away fixtures.
Melbourne City are unbeaten in their last three league matches. The Blues have recorded seven points from their last nine possible. They will feel confident going up against Central Coast Mariners, who have won a mere four fixtures all season.
Central Coast Mariners have lost 16 times in 2019-20. They have tasted defeat in nine straight matches in the A-League and are seven points off of their nearest rival, Melbourne Victory.
The two clubs last met this season in November with Melbourne City claiming a 3-1 victory. Curtis Good, Adrian Luna, and Rostyn Griffiths all got on the scoresheet for Melbourne City and the fixture was wrapped up after 82 minutes.
Central Coast Mariners player Jordan Murray tallied an 89th-minute goal as a consolation to flatter the yellow and navy blue. The last three games have all been won by the home side giving Central Coast Mariners some hope for a victory on Friday.
We preview the first of back-to-back away trips as we take on the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium on Friday evening. #CCMvMCY— Melbourne City FC 🏙️ (@MelbourneCity) March 19, 2020
We preview the first of back-to-back away trips as we take on the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium on Friday evening. #CCMvMCY
However, the Mariners have just been rotten all season and should slump to a 10th straight loss in the A-League.
Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne City have combined to score over 2.5 goals in each of their last three league matches. Ten of their last 13 games finished with both teams finding the back of the net.
Friday night’s match should follow similar trends with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals tallied as Melbourne City claim a third straight win over Central Coast Mariners.