Melbourne City FC have struggled to match up to their usual standards this season, stumbling through most of the A-League campaign.
They have already suffered five defeats halfway through their regular season fixtures, and are languishing outside the play-off spots.
City faced familiar foes Central Coast Mariners on Sunday. The Mariners hammered City in last season’s championship decider and are going well again this term.
A late goal by Angel Torres condemned City to another defeat and has left them in serious danger of missing out on the end-of-season play-offs.
City's AFC Champions League campaign has undoubtedly affected their league form. They recorded some decent results in the competition, but exited after the group stage.
They will be disappointed to have failed to secure a place in the knockout phase but must pick themselves up and focus on the rest of the season.
Their involvement in the Champions League affected their momentum, but they can now concentrate on climbing the A-League after crashing out of the competition.
Despite their poor start to the season, City are only seven points away from top spot. They will fancy their chances of climbing back into contention as the season progresses.
Several new betting apps still have City as one of the top contenders for the title at odds of 7.00 and that may attract punters looking for a value bet.
The early return of Andrew Nabbout from injury will significantly boost the team in the coming weeks. Nabbout has made two impressive cameos off the bench after a spell away from action.
Jamie Maclaren is another player whom City will be hoping to see reach previous heights in the coming weeks. The reigning A-League top scorer has only netted seven goals this season and will be desperate to improve those numbers after notching 24 last term.
An improvement in his form in front of goal will play a significant role in City's aspirations of climbing up the league table.
Maclaren became the all-time top scorer in A-League history as he took his tally to 144 league goals and won his fifth Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot last term.
However, the forward has felt the weight of responsibility after taking over as captain. He succeeded Scott Jamieson, who led the club for five years before his retirement at the end of last season.
If Maclaren can find his shooting boots again, he could help City salvage a decent league finish after a tumultuous campaign.
He will be eager to start against Adelaide United in City’s next game, particularly as he was largely anonymous in a 6-0 defeat against the same opponents earlier in the season.
Games against Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar are next on the agenda and afford City an excellent opportunity to get a couple of wins on the board.
That would set them up nicely for a big clash against local rivals Melbourne Victory, who have reached the halfway point of the season without losing.
City's remaining schedule after that fixture contains several more winnable games and a top four finish could still be on the cards if they get their act together.
They have reached the play-offs in each of the last nine seasons and will back themselves to do it again this time around.
In an ideal world they will want to end the regular season in one of the top two spots to ensure they avoid playing in the elimination-finals in the play-offs.
However, third or fourth place would give them home advantage if they miss out, which would boost their chances of reaching the last four.
While City have been inconsistent up this point, their record of reaching the last four play-off finals means it would be foolish to underestimate their chances this season.
No side has run away with things during the first half of the campaign – a factor which gives City every chance of forcing their way into contention.
