Weston Bears vs Melbourne City Australia Cup Tips & Prediction - Can City avoid another Cupset?
Weston Bears take on Melbourne City in the Australia Cup Round of 32, with recent upsets highlighting A-League clubs’ preseason disadvantage. The Bears are in strong form, sitting second in the NPL Northern NSW and scoring heavily. Meanwhile, City, whose squad has undergone significant offseason changes, have not advanced past this round since 2022. Historically, A-League teams tend to concede against well-prepared NPL sides at this stage. The key tip: both teams to score, but Melbourne City are predicted to progress after a competitive match.
- Weston Bears vs Melbourne City predictions for Sunday's Australia Cup R32 game
- Weston tipped to get on the scoresheet, but City to progress & avoid cupset
- The game is scheduled for kick off at 2.00pm AEST on Sunday July 26
Weston Bears vs Melbourne City Australia Cup Tips & Prediction
A-League sides have struggled so far in the Australia Cup Round of 32 and Weston Bears will fancy themselves to get on the scoresheet against Melbourne City on Sunday at home.
Perth Glory, Central Coast Mariners and reigning champions Newcastle Jets have already been eliminated by NPL clubs in the Australia Cup this week - can City avoid the same fate when they head north to Hunter City Motor Group Stadium?
I'm going to say yes and think City will progress into the R16, but I do believe the Bears can find the back of the net in defeat.
As we've seen, A-League clubs are at a big disadvantage playing this competition so early in their preseason, where they haven't been able to finalise their roster as the new season is still three months away from beginning.
NPL teams meanwhile are right in the thick of their respective campaigns and the likes of Preston Lions, Sydney United and Queensland Lions have been able to catch their A-League opposition cold.
The Northern NSW NPL isn't as strong as the leagues those clubs play in, which is why City should still emerge victorious, but we've seen A-League clubs concede in four of the six A-League vs NPL meetings so far in the R32.
So I'll take the Bears to find the back of the net and to keep this match relatively competitive.
Weston Bears vs Melbourne City Stats & Trends
- Bears have scored in 17 of their last 19 games
- City have failed to keep a clean sheet in four of their last five games
- Four of the six A-League vs NPL games this week have seen BTTS land
- Six of the last eight Australia Cup R32 games have seen Under 3.5 goals
- Bears are playing just their second Australia Cup R32 game
- City haven't been past the R32 since 2023
Weston Bears vs Melbourne City Head To Head
This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Weston Bears Form Analysis
The Bears are in strong form in the Northern NSW NPL, currently sitting in second spot on the ladder, winning 11 of their 19 games and trailing leaders Broadmeadow by four points.
Weston bring a three-game winning streak into this encounter, beating Lambton 3-2, Charleston Azzurri 5-0. and Kahibah 5-2. The goals have been flowing, with Weston scoring 21 times in their last six outings.
This will be just the second time the Bears will feature in the Australia Cup Round of 32 after they went down 2-0 to eventual finalists Heidelberg United 2-0 last year.
Weston Bears Team News
You can view the Bears squad below.
| Position | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| GK | Gerard Roebuck | Australia |
| MF | Connor Heydon | Australia |
| DF | Mitch Dobson | Australia |
| DF | Alessandro Ouwerkerk | Netherlands |
| DF | Joey O'Connor | Australia |
| DF | Chris Hurley (Captain) | Australia |
| FW | Dieuseul Kandundaho | Australia |
| MF | Liam Wilson | Australia |
| FW | Connor Evans | Australia |
| DF | Ryan Ensor | Australia |
| MF | Cooper Buswell | Australia |
| DF | Cooper Sargent | Australia |
| MF | Paul Sichalwe | Australia |
| MF | Jacob Dundas | Australia |
| MF | Ben Clouten | Australia |
| — | Kayden Soper | Australia |
| — | Nelson King | Australia |
| — | Nick Turkington | Australia |
| GK | Jacob Zissis | Australia |
| — | Dylan Burston | Australia |
Melbourne City Form Analysis
City scraped into the A-League finals last season, finishing in sixth spot after they struggled with juggling Asian Champions League commitments.
Aurelio Vidmar's side ended up winning their last four games of the regular season to secure their spot in the top six.
However, City ultimately went out of the finals in straight sets, going down 2-1 to Adelaide before being eliminated on penalties by eventual champions Auckland.
City's best Australia Cup result was winning the trophy in 2016 and a runner-up finish in 2019 - but they haven't been past the R32 in the last two editions, including lost 2-1 to APIA Leichhardt last year.
Melbourne City Team News
As with most A-League clubs, some big departures for City in the offseason, headlined by Socceroos World Cup goalkeeper Patrick Beach heading to Ligue 1 side Troyes.
Andreas Kuen has also left the club, while Marcus Younis, Daniel Arzani and Ryan Teague's loan deals have expired.
Veteran winger Andrew Nabboutt recently re-signed for another season, while there's still some quality for this game, including Max Caputo, Aziz Behich and Mat Leckie.
| Position | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| DF | Harrison Delbridge | Australia |
| DF | Liam Bonetig | Australia |
| FW | Mathew Leckie | Australia |
| FW | Takeshi Kanamori | Japan |
| FW | Elbasan Rashani | Kosovo |
| DF | Nathaniel Atkinson | Australia |
| FW | Andrew Nabbout | Australia |
| DF | Aziz Behich | Australia |
| FW | Max Caputo | Australia |
| FW | Benjamin Mazzeo | Australia |
| MF | Alessandro Lopane | Australia |
| DF | Jayden Necovski | Australia |
| FW | Medin Memeti | Australia |
| DF | Peter Antoniou | Australia |
| MF | Beckham Baker | Australia |
| GK | James Nieuwenhuizen | Australia |
| MF | Lawrence Wong | Australia |
| DF | Besian Kutleshi | Australia |
| DF | Ryan Kalms | Australia |
| FW | Akeem Gerald | Australia |
| MF | Kavian Rahmani | Australia |
| DF | Mathew Baker | Indonesia |
| GK | Lachlan Charles | Australia |
| FW | Roland Ballah | Australia |
| MF | Quinn MacNicol | Australia |
Verdict
BTTS is tipped for this clash, with City coming away with the victory.
BTTS - Yes
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