- Queensland Lions are near the top and in top form after winning their last five matches consecutively in the NPL Queensland.
- Lions have dominated this NPL Queensland fixture with 1-0, 3-0 and 5-0 scorelines in the last three seasons.
Lions are the team in the zone
Darren Sime's Queensland Lions SC are the clear favourites to win Sunday's NPL Queensland clash with Brisbane Wynnum Wolves FC for a reason and it is not just down to the head-to-head advantage.
The Lions are one of the most impressive teams in Australia right now after winning each of their last five first-team matches and sitting near the top of the Queensland pyramid on about 32 points. In contrast, Wynnum are in the mid-table zone on around 24 points, so there is a real gap in the title race.
Lions are a possession-first, high-pressing side that is set up to be fluid and interchangeable within their 4-2-3-1 shape with full-backs that provide width and a midfield fulcrum that allows them to overload the wide areas.
Lions boss Sime has a couple of tall, strong centre-backs in Jackson Hart-Phillips and Tommy Jarrad that have kept the home side compact at the back and, with Mitch Flinn Hore setting the pace, have given them a platform to run riot up front.
Back-to-back derby wins would be a big deal for the Lions
Wolves boss Graham Harvey has set up his team to be the anti-thesis of that style of play with a team that is compact, well-organised and looking to frustrate opponents before causing chaos on the break.
It may be a perfect game plan for this game, but it depends on keeping the Lions out for 90 minutes and, even then, they have to get enough chances in the transition to cause their own problems. Wynnum's chief danger man is Zach Maltby, whose pace and power make him the obvious target on the right, but he needs to be played into space by Jez Lofthouse, Josip Milicevic or Ryo Emoto.
Lions have the edge in the head-to-head, but the way they have beaten Wynnum has been to dominate both the scoreboard and territory, so it should be a straightforward home win if they can make the breakthrough early on. The cool Brisbane conditions should suit their tempo, so we're expecting them to get forward and play with a little bit of derby spice on Sunday.
Alex Fiechtner is a standout candidate to score at any time
There is a massive gap in class between these two teams at the moment with the Lions in top flight form, so there's no point looking for an upset special. We'll back them to lock in a two or three-goal win in the exact score markets with 2-0 and 2-1 the preferred selections.
Alex Fiechtner is the best scorer at Lions and the top scorer overall in the Queensland NPL.
