South Melbourne vs Auckland FC Tips & Predictions - Auckland to advance into quarter-finals

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Tue 12 Aug 2025 06:21

Andrew Hendrie 12 Aug 2025

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South Melbourne vs Auckland FC predictions for Wednesday's Australia Cup R16 game
Auckland's last five wins have been to nil, including their 4-0 R32 victory over Gold Coast Knights
Five of South Melbourne's last six defeats have been to nil
The game is scheduled for kick off at 7.30pm AEST on Wednesday August 13

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Auckland FC face South Melbourne on Wednesday (Photo by Getty Images)

South Melbourne vs Auckland FC Tips & Predictions

Auckland FC continue their debut Australia Cup campaign when they come up against South Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Wednesday night.

South Melbourne vs Auckland FC Tips & Predictions
Head To Head
South Melbourne Form
Auckland FC Form

South Melbourne are certainly no strangers to face Kiwi A-League opposition in this competition - they famously defeated Wellington Phoenix on their way to the semi-finals of the Australia Cup last year, where they were eventually toppled by eventual champions Macarthur FC. South Melbourne aren't having a great year in the NPL Victoria, but they are coming off a stirring Dockerty Cup trophy win over Heidelberg on the weekend.

Meanwhile, Auckland are playing just their second competitive game since the A-League finals, easing past Gold Coast Knights by a 4-0 score in their first ever Australia Cup game. Auckland had the second-best defence in the A-League last term and finished five points clear at the top of the table at the end of the regular season. I'm backing Auckland to win this game to nil at solid value.

Head To Head

This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.

South Melbourne Form

South Melbourne are enduring a disappointing campaign in the NPL Victoria, mostly due to their slow start that saw them win just two of their 12 opening games.

Sinisa Cohadzic's side have improved their form over the last couple of months and come into this clash having gone unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 games in all competitions.

Having made it all the way to the semi-finals of the Australia Cup last season, South Melbourne got this year's campaign up and running with a 2-1 victory over South Hobart in the R32.

South Melbourne will be confident ahead of this clash after knocking off high-flying Heidelberg 2-1 in last weekend's Dockerty Cup final, with Campbell Dovison's brace handing the club a record 10th trophy.

Auckland FC Form

Auckland enjoyed a stellar debut season in the A-League, finishing on top of the table to claim the minor premiership, but they suffered a disappointing loss to Melbourne Victory in the semi-finals after winning the first leg of that tie on the road.

Steve Corica has the chance to set up a quarter-final Australia Cup showdown with his former club Sydney FC if Auckland can make it past South Melbourne here.

Appearing in their first Australia Cup competition, Auckland were untroubled in a crushing 4-0 triumph over Gold Coast Knights in the R32.

Jesse Randal, Logan Rogerson, Guillermo May and Will Gillion all got on the scoresheet in the big win.

Verdict

South Melbourne v Auckland FC

Auckland conceded just 27 goals in 26 games during the regular A-League season and were dominant 4-0 winners over Gold Coast Knights in the R32.

South Melbourne haven't been at their best consistently this season and this is obviously a step up in class. Steve Corica won't be taking them lightly, so backing Auckland to put in a business-like performance and win to nil.