Melbourne Heart in 10th. Brisbane Roar in 9th. Who would have predicted that? Well, I did, at least the Melbourne Heart side of things. Then again, I also said Newcastle and Adelaide would be in 8th and 9th instead of 1st and 4th in reality, so maybe I just got luck on that one. Melbourne Heart have looked impotent in their recent matches. Only a wonder volley from Josip Tadic gave them any hope of beating the Wanderers in their 2-1 loss and they looked woefully outclassed across the park. Melbourne Heart will again be without talisman Fred in addition to Germano, and Vince Grella is unlikely to play. Heart need two main outcomes from this match. The first would hopefully be a win. A secondary concern would be to just appear to be playing the game based around the strategy and 'continental philosophy' that the Heart supposedly espouse. With a match in Adelaide following this one they need to pick up some momentum fast before they become rooted to the bottom of the ladder. They could lift as high as 5th if results go their way should they win.

The Brisbane Roar in their last match, a 1-0 loss at home to Adelaide, played the role of the Big Bad Wolf. They huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the house (or bus perhaps) of the Adelaide Piglets down. They conceded a goal from a very early free kick then spent the next 90 odd minutes trying to break down a stonewall Reds defence. Eugene Galekovic repelled everything the Roar could throw at him. It gave Brisbane their second loss on the trot and started a low build-up of pressure under new coach Rado Vidosic. They are without Besart Berisha who has an undisclosed abdomen issue. This match is hard to predict not because both teams could win, but because both teams could easily lose. Brisbane should have enough firepower to put at least one past the Heart. Aloisi will look smashing.

Prediction: 1-0 Roar.

One of the various NSW "Derby" matches on offer with the introduction of the Wanderers sees Newcastle come to Parramatta for the first and only time this season. The Wanderers are flying high off the back of a 2-1 win against Melbourne Heart, Mark Bridge the hero and Hersi chipping in with an 'assist' for a Heart own goal. Defensively the Wanderers have kept strong, organised and tough. In attack they have begun to gel together, Hersi has started to show his promise, and Bridge figured out he should just shoot instead of trying to sidestep a million defenders. Covic continues to be a colossus in goals and Mooy was unlucky to avoid a call up to the National Team earlier this week.

Newcastle's top 2 aspirations took a minor hit when they lost 3-2 against the Perth Glory. Heskey was unable to continue his goal-scoring streak although he did provide and assist for Josh Mitchell's goal that locked the game up at 2 all. They would have felt unlucky to have conceded the final goal of the game to consign them to the loss. Their attack has worked well after a small period of adjusting to having the quality of Heskey on board, but their defence was again lacking. They haven't been able to keep a clean-sheet the entire season so far and this will be worrying. The Wanderers have caught the knack of scoring but have still kept their defence sound. If they can control Heskey they should be able to take at least a point from this match at home.

Prediction: 2-0 Wanderers.

Sydney FC are coming off a week of nightmares after their away thrashing by the Mariners. The were annihilated, systematically taken apart and so thoroughly demoralised that the final 7-2 result was 4 or 5 goals lower that what it could have been if the home team hadn't decided to save energy and shut up shop. The Mariners took advantage of a Sydney team lacking their marquee player and any kind of defensive structure and scored at will in the second half. Sydney FC are under immense pressure as a team, it is quite possible that manager Ian Crook has lost the dressing room, Del Piero has had a number of public spats and is clearly frustrated at the total lack of quality in the rest of the team. As they come up against their biggest rivals, careers are on the line.

Melbourne Victory have started rolling with the punches instead of getting knocked out by them. Their 3-2 win against Wellington looks less comfortable on paper than it was in reality, as Wellington's Jeremy Brockie scored two long-range goals very late in the game. Apart from that, the Victory were untroubled, and have improved their ability to work to the Ange Master Plan. The two late goals tarnish a decent defensive effort and new Goalkeeper Nathan Coe is fitting in quite well. Sydney FC are mired with in-fighting, injuries and a lack of cohesive strategy. Melbourne should continue the pain, and people will wonder if Crook will still be in charge when round 7 starts.

Prediction: 4-0 Victory.

Wellington suffered a 3-2 loss in their last start against Melbourne Victory. The scoreline made them look good, only Jeremy Brockie and a couple of long-distance thunderbolts restoring a sense of respectability to proceedings. Wellington were cut apart time and time again and had little impact on the other end of the pitch. They were comprehensively outplayed. One positive is that the club is returning home. Wellington's attack, midfield and defence were out of sorts. They don't usually play that badly, the club need to find their consistency. Right now they are languishing in 8th place and don't look like finals contenders.

Central Coast only played for 70 minutes last week. Normally that would be cause for concern. In this case, they only played for 70 minutes because they'd put 7 past Sydney FC and only conceded 2 in return. The Mariners as a team are well drilled, up for a fight, can come from behind and can kill off a game with only the slightest of chances. They are at the top of their form right now and there is no reason they can't continue to perform at that level. The one thing the Mariners have lacked in recent years is goal-scoring potential, but with Rogic and McBreen repeatedly hitting the back of the net the Mariners can no longer fly under the radar as is Graham Arnold's want. The Mariners are a better team and should win. Wellington will be lucky to draw this match.

Prediction: 2-0 Mariners.

Adelaide are flying high, sitting pretty on top of the table. Jeronimo Neumann has dived into the breach left when John Kosmina decided to drop his two main strikers Djite and Van Dijk, performing well and scoring several important goals. Adelaide haven't really been convincing but they have been winning. Teams that continue to win despite playing off kilter usually end up either coming together and starting to play in a way that has matched their results, or the results turn against them. Perth are the perfect team to inflict the second scenario of the Reds. Kosmina has still been lacking in tactical awareness and flexibility, if Adelaide go behind it will be interesting to see what Kossie can do beyond simple 'motivation'.

Perth Glory won the game of the round last week, coming from behind to notch up a 3-2 victory against the Newcastle Jets. Perth continue to chug along like a great old steam engine, stoked by physical effort and pouring the belching black smoke of long ball football into the skies. Their strategy is fixed, their players drilled and battle hardened. They have physical aggression and determination to overcome their opponents as a team mentality. They will be disappointed to ship 2 goals and the defence will be on notice. Chris Harold provides a pacey option on the wings and will give trouble to the Adelaide defence. Perth have been the better team despite being lower on the scoreboard, but both sides are top 4 material and it could go either way.

Prediction: 1-1 Draw.

Click here to view the record