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Newcastle Jets will square off against Western United at Larrakia Park in the Australia Cup playoff on Wednesday. Both teams will play their first competitive match of the season. The Jets met Sydney in a friendly last week in Maitland last week to kick off their pre-season proceedings and suffered a 4-0 loss.
They were eliminated from the round of 32 of the Australia Cup last season and will look to improve upon that record.
United will play for the first time this season. They fared a little better than the Jets in the Australia Cup last season and were eliminated from the quarterfinals, suffering a 3-0 loss to eventual champions Sydney.
Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory will contest the other playoff game on Tuesday. The winners of these two playoff rounds will progress to the round of 32.
Newcastle Jets vs Western United Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams do not have much history and have met 12 times thus far with all meetings taking place in the A-League. They have contested these meetings closely with United having a narrow 5-4 lead in wins and three games ending in draws.
- They will meet for the first time in the Australia Cup.
- They met three times in the A-League last season, with all meetings producing conclusive results, and had fewer than 2.5 goals. Newcastle registered two wins and one game went United's way.
- Newcastle Jets have just three wins across all competitions in 2024, with two of them coming at home.
- Western United have four wins and three losses in seven games in the Australia Cup thus far.
- Just two of the 12 meetings between the two sides have produced over 2.5 goals.
Newcastle Jets vs Western United Prediction
The Jets played Sydney in a friendly last week, suffering a 4-0 loss, and will look to improve upon that record. They had just two wins in their last 13 games of the 2023-24 season and might struggle here.
They have parted ways with last season's top-scorer Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, as the striker joined Motherwell, so head coach Rob Stanton is likely to start Clayton Taylor as a striker. New signing Lachlan Rose is also expected to make his debut here.
United play for the first time this season and might be a bit rusty. They suffered two defeats in three meetings against Newcastle last season while failing to score in the losses.
They also bid adieu to their top-scorer from the previous season, Daniel Penha, as the Brazilian attacker returned to the Brazilian Serie A after his season-long loan.
While there is nothing much to separate the two teams, considering United's better record in the Australia Cup, they are expected to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Newcastle Jets 1-2 Western United
Newcastle Jets vs Western United Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Western United to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Clayton Taylor to score or assist any time - Yes
