- Mandurah City have won 3 of their last 5 league games including a 4-0 away win against Quinns and a 2-1 victory over Floreat Athena.
- Murdoch Uni Melville have been in mixed form, winning 3 of their last 5 Western Australia State League 1 fixtures including a 3-1 home win over Kingsley Westside and 0-3 away defeat to UWA-Nedlands.
- Murdoch University Melville and Mandurah City have a head-to-head record of 4 wins each and 1 draw in 9 games played in all competitions since 2021.
A close and competitive mid-season clash
Mandurah City are the slight favourites for this weekend's clash against Murdoch Uni Melville at 2.04, but the hosts, who are priced at 2.93, and the draw, 3.7, all have strong claims. The head-to-head between these sides since 2021 has been even with Murdoch University Melville and Mandurah City winning 4 times apiece and 1 draw across 9 fixtures in all competitions. However, Mandurah City are currently in the better form and have a goal power edge to suggest that they can take all three points this Saturday.
The last 3 meetings have been extremely fierce and entertaining affairs with Mandurah City coming away with a 6-2 victory in July 2024 and 2-2 stalemate in April 2025 of the Football West State League 1. Mandurah have scored 21 goals in those 3 games to Murdoch's 16. Mandurah City have the better recent form, 3 wins in their last 5 league matches, but both teams have been in attacking mood and the 'Both teams to score - Yes' market is a heavy favourite at 1.33.
Mandurah have had a great run of form since late May, winning 3 on the bounce, and their manager John Baird has the squad playing a direct, wing-focused game where they can play late and get players in behind the opposition defence. Baird's boys like to get plenty of players forward from the flanks and get a load of balls into the box for players to feast on in the second half of the game. They have a multi-pronged attack with Brandon Milton, Ajay Moseley and Joshua Schaftenaar all on the season's goalscorers list, while Dante Virga and Luke Davies are stalwarts in the backline who have helped Mandurah to keep the goals against column under control in recent weeks.
Murdoch University Melville’s goals have come in clusters
Murdoch University Melville are 8th in the Western Australia State League 1 table, 3 places and 2 points below Mandurah City who are 5th with 15 points from 10 games, both in the middle of the table. Gavin Brown's side have been in good form in patches with a few of their midfielders and forwards getting a few goals in a game. Murdoch have won 3 and lost 2 of these fixtures so their form is mixed and there is little consistency to them. They play a more pragmatic style of football, looking to play on the counter attack, play good set-piece routines and have the odd player who can hit the ball far.
Murdoch University Melville could pull off a win here, but our recommendation is to take the away side to nick the game. Mandurah are the form team, they have the superior defensive record and are three places above their hosts in the league table. The draw is a big runner and could well be the most likely outcome of this match, but we'll take Mandurah in the double chance market at a good price of 2.04. Cool, damp conditions at the start of the match might slow the pace as the teams adjust to the slick surface before the heat of the day dries it out. The match should be end-to-end with Mandurah's wing play testing a Murdoch defence that can be prone to individual mistakes and the hosts deadly on the break when the ball is transitioned quickly.