Marvel Stadium will play host to Saturday's Round 9 AFL game between Carlton Blues and Western Bulldogs. The game kicks off at 7:30 pm with Western Bulldogs heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Carlton Blues vs. Western Bulldogs game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Saturday May 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Where: Marvel Stadium

Bet: Bet On This Match HERE

Carlton Blues vs Western Bulldogs Odds

Carlton Blues vs Western Bulldogs Preview

A big crowd is expected under the roof at Marvel on Saturday night for what is quite simply a must-win game for the Blues.

Not for the first time this season, Carlton has come under fire on the back of a puzzling effort against the Lions last week.

“Boring” has been the word to describe the effort from Michael Voss’ side, the Blues playing a slow, tough to watch brand of football that really doesn’t compliment their enormous advantage forward of the ground.

The Dogs, on the other hand, have been humming along nicely, stringing together three wins on the trot. Realistically, you could argue the Bulldogs haven’t beaten much in Fremantle, Hawthorn, and GWS, but they look to have rectified some of their glaring issues at both ends of the ground.

Accuracy in front of goal has long been a problem for the Dogs, but they’ve had no issues converting 13 goals or more in their last three games. On the other end, the Bulldogs have really knuckled defensively, currently allowing the third-fewest points in the competition.

As the market suggests, this is a 50/50 game between two sides that we’re yet to figure out.

Skills-wise, the advantage has to go to the Dogs, but this is a much bigger test for their back-line against two former Coleman Medalists.

That said, the Blues actually have to get the ball down that end of the ground with purpose, which is proving difficult with turnovers becoming more and more frequent.

The Blues have won three of their last five against the Dogs, but if Luke Beveridge can come up with a strategy to eliminate Patrick Cripps – something the Lions did effectively last week – and also capitalise on Carlton’s sloppy play, the Bulldogs look a nice bet to win outright.

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