Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix Prediction and Betting Tips | February 24th 2023

The Central Coast Mariners will entertain Wellington Phoenix at the Central Coast Stadium in the A-League on Friday.

The hosts are in second place in the league table with 27 points to their name. They trail league leaders Melbourne City by seven points, who also have a game in hand.

In their previous outing, they overturned a two-goal deficit against Perth Glory on Saturday with Jason Cummings bagging a six-minute brace in the second half.

Wellington Phoenix returned to winning ways after three games as goals from Yan Sasse, Bozhidar Kraev, and Oskar Zawada helped them overcome Western United 3-0 in their away game.

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Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• The two teams have crossed paths 43 times thus far with all meetings taking place in the A-League. They have been closely matched in these meetings with the visitors having a narrow 19-16 lead and eight games ending in stalemates.
• The hosts have seen over 2.5 goals in their last eight league outings while the visitors have seen over 2.5 goals in their last five games in the league.
• Central Coast Mariners are unbeaten in their last five home games in the league, winning four in that period while scoring at least two goals in each game.
• Interestingly, Central Coast Mariners have scored at least one goal in home games while Wellington Phoenix have scored at least one goal in away games.
• Only first-placed Melbourne City have recorded more wins (10) than the hosts (8) in the league this season. On the other hand, only Brisbane Roar have drawn more games (8) than the visitors (6).
• Wellington are unbeaten in their two meetings against the hosts this term and recorded a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture last month.

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Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix Prediction

The hosts have been the better side in recent meetings against the visitors and recorded a 5-0 win in their previous home game in April last year. They have outscored the visitors 35-29 this season and have also conceded one goal fewer than the visitors.

Wellington have failed to score in three of their last six meetings against the hosts and might struggle here. Nonetheless, as both teams look to bolster their chances of making it to the final series, we expect them to play out a closely contested draw.

Prediction: Central Coast Mariners 2-2 Wellington Phoenix

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Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Draw

Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5

Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the first half - Yes

Tip 4: Oskar Zawada to score or assist any time - Yes