2018/19 A-League Round 3 Odds: Betting Preview, Trends, Analysis for Week

The third round of the A-League season starts in style on Friday night when the top two teams in championship betting, Melbourne City and Sydney FC, meet in the Victorian capital.

It's been a big week for the Sky Blues, who went down 2-1 to Adelaide United in the FFA Cup decider on Tuesday night thanks to a masterclass from Reds winger Craig Goodwin. He produced a pair of stunning goals to secure the club's second FFA Cup trophy.

Both of these clubs have collected four points from a possible six to start the A-League season, with Sydney beating their cross-town rivals Western Sydney Wanderers last week, after they secured a point against Adelaide the week before.

City's start to the season has left many pundits red-faced, they got a point on the Central Coast last Saturday after winning the Melbourne Derby 2-1 on the opening Saturday night of the season.

The betting market in this one couldn't be much tighter, with the hosts at $2.60 AUD on the odds and the Sky Blues right behind them at $2.63, according to AustralianGambling.

It is a similar story in the championship betting market, but this time it is Sydney that leads the way by a small margin, as it is $4.33 to win its second title in three years, while City are the second pick at $4.50.

Friday's clash is not the only blockbuster on the calendar this weekend, with the Grand Final rematch set to take place in the Hunter Valley between the Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.

Despite their sluggish start to the campaign, which has resulted in two losses, last season's champions are $2.37 favourites with the Jets at $2.75 to secure the first win of their campaign after they opened their account with a 1-1 draw in Adelaide last Friday.

The team that condemned Victory to their second loss in as many starts last Sunday, in what was the match of the season so far, Perth Glory, shortened to $7.50 to win the title on the back of that result and are a $2 favourite to get their second win from three starts when they host Brisbane Roar on Sunday afternoon.

Tony Popovic has the men from the west firing on all cylinders in the early part of the season, including attacking pair Chris Ikonomidis and Andy Keogh who has scored in both the club's games so far.

Popovic's former side Western Sydney Wanderers head across the ditch to New Zealand to face the Wellington Phoenix on Saturday for a match that is suddenly a tough assignment, with new coach Mark Rudan making an immediate impact in the Kiwi capital, collecting four points from their opening two games.

The Wanderers are a surprising favourite in that one to win their first game of the season, at $2.50, while Rudan's side are a $2.63 shot and the draw is at $3.40.

Freshly crowned FFA Cup champions Adelaide United travel to Gosford to meet the Central Coast Mariners in the final match of the round on Sunday, and despite having to back up from that midweek cup final, the Reds are the equal shortest price favourite of the round, at $2, to pick up their first league win of the season.