Australian A-League Picks & Predictions: Two value plays for Saturday’s Final

The club soccer season is winding down but that doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of this final week or so.

OddsJam’s soccer betting expert @FootyChancellor dives into his favorite value picks from Melbourne City FC vs. Central Coast Mariners this weekend.

Melbourne City FC vs. Central Coast Mariners Picks

Saturday, June 3

The Australian A-League championship is finally here, and one of the two top squads will left the trophy. Melbourne City have ran through the season and crowned regular season champions by a comfortable margin. They finished as the No. 1 seed for the playoffs which also gives them the right to host this championship match.

Melbourne have not lost at home all season but that does mean that is a lock by any means. Central are the No. 2 seed and winners of seven straight coming into the title matchup. They have held their own against Melbourne in the past and will do it again here. Central play tough defense that has held up against Melbourne’s high powered attacked twice this year. 

Pick #1: Jamie Maclaren to Score a Goal | -110 at FanDuel

Not only do we have the two best teams facing off but also the two best players. Jamie Maclaren of Melbourne City has dominated this league for the past four seasons with 88 goals. He is the defending golden boot winner but has not scored in the playoffs after scoring six goals in the final three matches.

By Maclaren’s standards, he is way overdue for a goal and will get one when it matters the most. I was able to find great value using OddsJam locating Maclaren to score at -110 on FanDuel compared to -136 on all the other books. Lock it in.

Pick #2: Jason Cummings to Score a Goal | +190 at FanDuel

The bigger value comes from the second best player on the pitch in Jason Cummings on Central Coast. He’s the second leading scoring in the regular season and the leader of this Central team. Cummings scored 16 goals in the regular season and one so far in the playoffs. He is the best striker on an attacking team so we have incredible value in this matchup.

Once again using OddsJam, we were able to find Cummings at a great +190 on Fanduel when other books have him at +150. No way I am passing on either of these goal scorers in what should be a high-scoring championship match.