The Kiwi side are in position to claim all three points on their visit to AAMI Park, and punters can find good value if they get behind Ernie Merrick's men
Wellington Phoenix have never won an A-League match in Melbourne, but they will get no better chance to break their duck than Friday's clash with winless Melbourne Heart.
Ernie Merrick's Phoenix side finally broke through for their first win of the season last weekend as they edged out Sydney FC in a 1-0 result at Westpac Stadium.
And, having broken their duck in that regard, the New Zealanders will fancy their chances of earning their first win in Melbourne and the chance to heap more misery on Heart coach John Aloisi, whose team has now gone 16 matches without a win, a run dating back to last February.
With the axe hovering over Aloisi and renewed talk in the air Heart are about to be sold to Melbourne Storm owner, New Zealand entrepreneur Bart Campbell, it's not surprising punters are not confident when it comes to Heart's chances on Friday, rating them at $2.30 odds with Bet365.
Despite the Phoenix having never won in the Victorian capital, $3 for Wellington against the winless Heart appears reasonable value, especially as they have showed real glimpses of potential so far this season even if they have lacked a cutting edge up front.
 | BET | OF THE | DAY |
| | Wellington to win 2-1 at $11 |
Wellington are not alone in that, though, as both sides are struggling to score, the two teams averaging around one goal and Wellington's chances of scoring more have certainly not been helped by a season-ending Achilles injury to Paul Ifill.
Ifill is not the player he once was but is still a clever and canny operator, although in his absence, the likes of Stein Huysegems and Jeremy Brockie – two of Wellington's serial culprits when it comes to missing chances – have to step up in his absence.
Huysegems scored the winner in last week's win over Sydney, so it's hardly surprising he's the $2.62 favourite to score at any time in this match, ahead of team-mate Brockie ($3.20) and Heart pair Dylan Macallister ($3.00) and Michael Mifsud ($3.20).
However, the fact Harry Kewell normally takes penalties for Heart – despite a shocking miss against Sydney a few weeks back - makes $4 for the former Socceroo an attractive price.
In correct score betting, though, it's difficult to mount a case for this being a high-scoring affair although the same was said before Heart's meeting with Adelaide a few weeks ago and that ended up being a 3-3 thriller.
Those sort of games only usually pop up in a blue moon in the A-League and with both sides lacking firepower a 1-0 win either way could be a goer, with Heart at $8 and Wellington $9.
But Heart also have a tendency to concede after levelling matches as they throw themselves forward in a desperate bid for a winner, so the 2-1 scoreline to Wellington at $11 may be value.
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