A-League Week 16 Odds Preview: Victory Travel to Perth, Sydney FC Face Adelaide

The battle between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory for A-League supremacy took plenty of twists and turns over the past week, and with their crucial Australia Day clash just a week away, both will be desperate to win their Round 16 matches.

As it stands, Sydney hold a five-point lead over Victory at the top of the table, but that could have been as little as two after the Sky Blues only managed a 0-0 draw against the Western Sydney Wanderers last week.

Victory, who had beaten Brisbane Roar 3-2 in an extraordinary match on Friday, travelled to Wellington on Tuesday and got a massive shock, as they were beaten 3-0 by the Phoenix and squandered their chance to close the gap.

The market now has Sydney FC at $3.10 AUD to win the championship, according to AustralianGambling.com.au, while they are $1.40 to win the Premiers Plate. The Victory are $3.30 and $3.20, respectively, in those markets after the events of the past five days.

Victory now must make the arduous trip to Perth on Saturday night to play the Glory. The Melbourne side go in as $2.10 favourites, despite having not beaten the Glory in the league since March 2014. The Glory, who have just one win in their past eight matches, are $3 with the draw at $3.60.

Sydney FC, coming off a slightly disappointing Sydney Derby, take on an Adelaide United side who are finally off the bottom of the ladder having beaten Melbourne City last week.

The Sky Blues are $1.50 favourites in that match, and it's little wonder when you consider they played Adelaide four weeks ago at Coopers Stadium and thrashed them 4-0. The Reds did manage a draw in Sydney in November, and that is quoted at $4, while an unlikely Adelaide win would net you odds of $6.50.

Melbourne City's inconsistent recent form has dented their title charge, but they can get things back on track when they host bottom-of-the-table Central Coast Mariners on Thursday night.

These two teams met just 19 days ago on New Year's Eve, and that resulted in a 2-2 draw. The oddsmakers think a repeat of that is unlikely, with City the shortest-price favourite of the weekend at $1.30. The Mariners are $8.50, with a draw priced at $5.50.

Wellington are arguably the form team of the competition after back-to-back home wins in the space of three days. They host the team with the least impressive recent form in Brisbane, who are on a three-match losing streak.

The Roar sit three points ahead of the Phoenix in the table, and the oddsmakers have them as $2.30 favourites, with the Phoenix at $2.80 and the draw at $3.40.

The final match of the round pitches the Western Sydney Wanderers, who have nine draws from 15 games this campaign, against the Newcastle Jets on Sunday. The Wanderers are $1.85 for that one, with the Jets at $3.60. The draw looks particularly appealing at $4 given the Wanderers are winless in their past six matches and love a stalemate.