Bitesize Prediction: Avondale vs Melbourne Knights – 01/06/24

Competition: NPL Victoria

Market: Avondale win

Odds: 2/5 @ 1xBet

Hoping to find a route to the top of the NPL Victoria table on Saturday morning, Avondale will welcome the Melbourne Knights to Avenger Park.

Starting with the hosts, making real history last season as they got their hands on a maiden NPL Victoria title, Avondale are once again tipped as a leading contender this time around. Opening Saturday’s showdown at Avenger Park sat just three points adrift of leapfrogging South Melbourne to top spot, the Blues will certainly be smelling a golden opportunity this weekend. Last seen securing a 2-1 victory at home against St. Albans, Zoran Markovski’s men have now won all of their previous four appearances on the bounce. With their recent purple patch highlighted by a 5-1 romp against Port Melbourne on May 11th, Saturday’s hosts have also registered 21 points from just their previous eight NPL Victoria outings. Pencilled as a landslide favourite with the bookmakers here, the Blues will also be excited by a rampant record on home soil. In fact, Markovski’s title contenders have suffered just a single defeat at Avengers Park since way back in August 2022.

As for the visitors, although Melbourne Knights might have opened May with a thumping 3-0 victory away at Dandenong, Ivan Franjic’s men have failed to use that performance as a platform to build on. Collecting just a single point from any of their previous three NPL Victoria appearances and losing back-to-back outings by an aggregate score of 3-0, the Reds have claimed just a sole win from any of their previous seven showdowns. Facing what will certainly be a real challenge here, Franjic’s side will also be worried by a nightmare record against the defending NPL Victoria champions. Along with losing their previous two trips to Avondale by an aggregate score of 4-0, it should also be noted that the Knights have failed to win any of their 10 battles at Avengers Park. Given what has been a huge recent gulf in class between Saturday’s opponents, it is hard to see anything other than a home victory this weekend.

Bet: Avondale 2/5 to beat Melbourne Knights in Saturday’s NPL Victoria matchup @ 1xBet