Brisbane Roar vs Melbourne City Tips - City to make a winning start

Brisbane Roar vs Melbourne City preview for Monday’s A-League match at Dolphin Stadium
Jamie Maclaren has scored 3 goals in his last 3 against Brisbane Roar
Melbourne City to win and Jamie Maclaren to score is the best bet

Melbourne City are tipped to win away from home (Getty Images).

Brisbane Roar vs Melbourne City Tips

Continuity is key and Melbourne City have retained a core group of players, while adding some extra talent. I’m backing City to win and Maclaren to continue his impressive form.

Brisbane Roar have not won in their last 3 matches (A-League).
Melbourne City have won 4 of their last 5 matches (A-League).
Jamie Maclaren has scored 9 goals in his last 8 matches (A-League).

Head to Head

These two sides have met 32 times. Melbourne City have won 15 of those meetings to Brisbane’s 11 and they have played out six draws.

Brisbane Roar Form

Consecutive 1-1 draws against Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC saw Brisbane finish fourth at the end of the regular season.

The outbreak of the pandemic saw head coach Robbie Fowler depart the club, resulting in the untried Warren Moon stepping into the role.

Despite coming into the finals with a solid record, Brisbane’s run would end in the first week as they went down 1-0 to Western United. In a tight contest, it took an Alessandro Diamanti wonder goal to separate the two sides and send Brisbane packing.

Brisbane Roar Team News

Brisbane saw several first-choice players depart from last season. Forward Brad Inman completed a move to India, while Burnley loanee Aiden O’Neill made a permanent move to Melbourne City.

The club also lost exciting young striker Mirza Muratovic, as well as experienced defender Scott Neville.

Brisbane activity in the transfer market was headlined by the signing of four-time Japanese international Masato Kudo. The 30-year-old forward joins after 189 appearances for Kashiwa Reysol in Japan.

Melbourne City Form

After winning four consecutive matches to qualify for their inaugural Grand Final last season, City’s season came crashing down in heartbreaking fashion.

A 2-0 win against Western United in the semi-final saw City head into the final with plenty of confidence that they would take home a major trophy.

Striker Jamie Maclaren also finished the season in hot form, scoring nine goals in seven leading up to the match.

City started the match well and even had a goal ruled out by the VAR in the first half.

An extra-time goal off Sydney fullback Rhyan Grant’s shoulder would then break City hearts and send them back to the drawing board.

Melbourne City Team News

Melbourne City wasted little time strengthening their squad in the off-season. The club recruited Socceroo Andrew Nabbout from rivals Melbourne Victory, who will replace the outgoing Lachlan Wales who joined Western United.

Attacking midfielder Aiden O’Neil also joined the club after deciding not to return to Burnley – having spent last season on loan with Brisbane.

The only injury concern for the club is right-back Nathaniel Atkinson, who is expected to miss four weeks with a hamstring injury.