Auckland FC v Central Coast Mariners: A-League Sunday preview

Auckland FC have enjoyed a dream debut season in the A-League to date and are currently well clear at the top of the ladder, with their next assignment a visit from ailing reigning premiers Central Coast Mariners.

The Black Knights have lost just two of the 19 games they have played and head into the contest at the Go Media Stadium on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run, although they have drawn their last two.

In contrast the Mariners have seen their finals hopes evaporate as four consecutive draws have been followed by three straight losses, with the three defeats seeing ten goals conceded and just one scored and even that was an own goal.

Auckland FC v Central Coast Mariners betting preview

Corica's side have goalscorers in form

Steve Corica has rightly taken plenty of plaudits for the way Auckland have landed in the A-League with a bang, with the New Zealanders well on track to claim the minor premiership.

Defensive strength has been the rock their success has been built on, with the Black Knights having conceded just 18 goals across their 19 completed matches, keeping nine clean sheets and conceding more than once just three times.

A recent 4-4 draw with Adelaide United was a real outlier among their displays, while last time out only a missed penalty spared them from defeat to Newcastle Jets as the game ended 1-1, so Auckland do need to improve to see off the Mariners.

They will have to do so without suspended duo defender Nando Pijnaker and midfielder Louis Verstraete, but Dan Hall is available to step in for the former in a straight swap.

In attack the ladder leaders have three players in fine goalscoring form, with Uruguayan Guillermo May having scored three times in his last four appearances, while Colombian Neyder Moreno has five in his last seven outings.

Logan Rogerson has four in his last three appearances, including a hat-trick in the 6-1 thrashing of Wellington Phoenix, with he, May and Moreno all on seven league goals for the season.

Both May and Rogerson were among the scorers when Auckland dished out a 4-1 beating to the Mariners in Gosford just after Christmas and the former is 2.20 to score at anytime on Sunday.

Mariners sinking without a trace

Head coach Mark Jackson has urged his Central Coast players to keep fighting despite their season having taken a downward spiral in recent weeks as they have gone winless in seven A-League matches.

He told the media ahead of this tough visit to the league leaders: "We've got to try and finish on a positive note. The table doesn't lie, we deserve to be where we are."

However, it is all doom and gloom, as before a 3-0 defeat at Melbourne Victory last time out they had only lost once in nine previous away games, with their only other reverse coming at Sydney FC (4-1) in mid-January.

Jackson will have to prepare for this clash with the injured duo of forward Ryan Edmondson and defensive midfielder Brad Tapp.

However, Alou Kuol is back in contention after sitting out the defeat to the Victory and he is joined by Alfie McCalmont, who has served a one-match suspension.

Central Coast have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last six matches, while teenage midfielder Haine Eames was the last Mariners player to find the net, doing so in the 1-1 draw at Perth Glory more than a month ago.

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Auckland FC v Central Coast Mariners odds

Auckland FC - 1.48
Draw - 4.50
Central Coast Mariners - 6.50

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.