- Eltham Redbacks are undefeated at home in NPL Victoria 2 (W4, D4).
- Western United FC U21 are struggling on the road in NPL Victoria 2 (W2, D0, L6).
- Eltham Redbacks beat Western United FC U21 2-0 away in NPL Victoria 2, three months ago.
Tactical clash between two consistent styles
Eltham Redbacks (6th, 25 points from 17 matches) are struggling to win at the moment and are without a victory in their last five games (D2, L3). Western United FC U21 (11th, 19 points from 17 games) have had a mixed bag of results lately (W1, D1, L3), but will be in good spirits after their last away game, a 4-3 win against Manningham United Blues.
These two teams are very different in the way that they approach a game, and have been all season. Eltham are a tactically disciplined side, sitting deep and remaining compact, trying to press at times, but focusing mainly on transitioning the ball quickly and defending well, while Western United FC U21 are a progressive team, they press high, over-load the midfield and create space and fluidity in the attacking third.
Expect goals when two promotion hopefuls meet
Eltham have a slight edge in the game odds at 2.04, but we feel that the better value is on the away side at 2.66. Western United FC U21's recent form might be slightly misleading, they've only secured two wins in their eight away games. Away from home in the NPL Victoria 2, Western United U21 are very leaky, scoring 1.62 goals per game and conceding a massive 2.75 goals per game.
Eltham are undefeated at home, but have drawn their last two games at The Grange, lacking the killer instinct to close out games. They average an impressive 2.88 goals for per home game in NPL Victoria 2 and concede 1.38 goals, suggesting there is plenty of opportunity for both sides to trouble the net on Friday.
Over 2.5 goals is a heavily priced favourite at 1.25, which is perhaps unsurprising. Given Eltham's undefeated home record and the visitors shaky defence on the road, we're going for an Eltham win in a goal-heavy game.
Neither side has a stand out goal scorer or playmaker, but Eltham's home goals average suggests that they have many potential threats, while Western United's high goal average at both ends of the pitch make them a threat for either end of the field.
