A-League Week 15 Odds Preview: Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory Heavy Favorites

The A-League's traditional power clubs, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, have firmly asserted themselves on the competition this season. And while there are still 13 rounds to go, the battle for the Premiers' Plate appears to be down to those two teams.

Sydney are on a mission to be the A-League's first-ever unbeaten side, and having secured a slightly fortuitous three points in their match against the Central Coast Mariners last week, they sit seven points clear of Melbourne Victory.

But Victory are now close to equal favorites with Sydney for the championship, having notched five wins in succession with success against Adelaide United this week. They are $3.60 to lift the trophy at season's end, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, with Sydney at $3.50.

This round of matches could prove crucial for both sides, with Sydney facing a derby against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night, while Melbourne host fourth-placed Brisbane Roar on Friday before traveling to face Wellington Phoenix for a rescheduled match on Tuesday.

A loss from Sydney and two wins from Victory in those fixtures would see the Sky Blues' lead at the top of the table cut to just one point.

However, the bookmakers don't think that will happen, with Sydney at $1.67 to beat the Wanderers, who are $5. The draw is priced at $3.75.

The logic behind the market is simple. Sydney smashed the Wanderers 4-0 in the opening game of the season, and while the Sky Blues have continued to improve since then, it's arguable whether the Wanderers have made any progress. They have won just one of their past 12 games and are coming off a loss to Melbourne City.

To make things worse for the Wanderers, Sydney get back suspended striker Alex Brosque, who is their leading scorer this season with eight goals.

Twenty-four hours before that, Brisbane face a crucial test, having lost two matches in succession. While the loss to Sydney FC two weeks ago was excusable, the 3-2 home defeat to the Newcastle Jets wasn't, and John Aloisi's team look anything but the resilient Roar of earlier in the season.

They confront a white-hot Victory side, with Besart Berisha and Marco Rojas seemingly scoring goals for fun at the moment. Victory are $1.67, and look value at that, with the Roar at $5 in a market that mirrors the Sydney derby.

The round kicks off in Adelaide on Thursday night, when the Reds host Melbourne City, who broke their winless run with a 1-0 win last week.

Under caretaker coach Michael Valkanis, City weren't exactly convincing, but they did enough and may finally be getting things back on track. They are $2.10 to make it back-to-back successes, while Adelaide are $3.30 to secure just their second win of the campaign.

The Phoenix lost to Perth Glory last week, but they look a better team since they had a change of coach. They are $1.57 to get the points against the Central Coast Mariners ($5), who are now winless in six, five of which have been losses.

Things are much brighter up the F3, where the Jets secured yet another massive upset against Brisbane last week. They are $2.40 to defeat Perth when the teams meet in Newcastle on Sunday afternoon in a battle of the A-League's two least predictable teams.