Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory
Friday 09:50 (Live on BT Sport 1)
In retrospect, there was a clue in the name. The Immortal live on, as they won 1-0 in Salvador last night. Bruised by that result, we too must fight on.
The 2016/17 A-League gets going Down Under on Friday morning our time. The very first game of the season pits Brisbane Roar at home to Melbourne Victory.
Champions the season before last, Kevin Muscat's Victory are among the favourites to win the Grand Final next May, but this opening fixture is as hard as they come. Brizzy won this fixture 5-0 last term and, under John Aloisi, they went W11-D2-L1 on home turf as they ended the regular season in third place.
Kevin Muscat's men were dominant at home too, but much poorer on the road than in previous campaigns. They lost half of their 14 away games in total, going W0-D2-L5 against the five teams that finished above them in the 10-team table. Having also lost a knockout game away to the Roar last season, we fancy them to start the new term with a whimper at the Suncorp Stadium this Friday.
Recommended Bet
Back Brisbane Roar @ 2.447/5 to beat Melbourne Victory
2016 P/L (1pt per bet)
Staked: 137pts
Returned: 124.07pts
P/L: -12.93pts