Muscat and Victory set sights on A-League Grand Final upset

SYDNEY FC are short-priced favourites to cap their stellar season with a win in the 2017 A-League Grand Final.

Graham Arnold’s men downed Perth Glory 3-0 on Saturday to tee up a date with Melbourne Victory, who edged out Brisbane Roar courtesy of a loan Besart Berisha goal.

The Big Blue is always a tough one for tipsters, but online bookmakers are suggesting nobody should be scratching their head too long over this one.

Sydney finished some 17 points ahead of second-placed Victory in the race for the premier’s plate, and the match odds at Sportsbet.com.au reflect that.

The Sky Blues are paying only -256.41 to lift the trophy and -120.48 to get the job done in regular time.

Melbourne, on the other hand, are offering +192 and +300 respectively.

Despite those numbers, and the fact Sydney have beaten the Victory in three of three clashes this season, Kevin Muscat revealed on Monday that he and his squad were working on some very significant changes.

“The most important thing. We’re going to beat them,” said the Melbourne coach.

“If we analyse the results [between the two sides] it would be a pretty quick article.

“But if we analyse the performances, there was nothing in the three games.

“In fact, there were decisions in the games that compounded things and impacted the results.

“After a performance like that [against Brisbane] … we go to Sydney with all the confidence in the world.”

Victory were made to work hard against an undermanned Roar outfit, but Muscat praised his side’s work ethic and persistence.

“The performance was outstanding from start to finish,” Muscat said.

“When we didn’t have the ball, our intensity to get it back was frightening. It didn’t allow them to get a foothold into the game.

“[There were] that many selfless acts today … we were outstanding.”

2016-17 A-League Grand Final betting

All markets provided by Sportsbet.com.au

To lift the cup

-256.41 – Sydney FC

+192 – Melbourne Victory

Win-draw-win

-120.48 – Sydney FC

+275 – Draw

+300 – Melbourne Victory

Handicap betting

+225 – Sydney FC -1.0

+275 – Draw -1.0

-109.89 – Melbourne Victory +1.0

First goalscorer

+400 – Bobo

+550 – Besart Berisha, Alex Brosque, Filip Holosko

+600 – Matt Simon

+700 – Bernie Ibini-Isei

+750 – George Blackwood, Marco Rojas

+1000 – David Carney

+1100 – Fahid Ben Khalfallah, George Howard, Milos Ninkovic

+1200 – James Troisi

+1400 – Mitch Austin, Josh Brillante, Milos Dimitrijevic

+1600 – Jai Ingham

+2000 – Brandon O’Neill

+2500 – Jordy Buijs, Rashid Mahazi, Michael Zullo

(More quoted at Sportsbet)