<p>Adelaide returns home to the Adelaide Oval to host Carlton on Saturday afternoon in what is not quite the match but certainly one of the matches of the round.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The high-scoring, high-speed Crows face the contested, pressure-filled Blues side; this one promises to be a clash of styles.</p> <p>Adelaide would be endlessly frustrated that they could not back up their impressive win over the Giants against the Dockers, but let's not underestimate the difficulty of defeating Freo in the West.</p> <p>Still nestled in the top eight, they return home to Adelaide Oval, a place they are once again turning into a fortress for themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>They host a Carlton team that has its season on track after knocking off Geelong at the MCG on Sunday. It took them a while, but they finally got rolling and looked like their old selves again—contest, pressure, power, with Harry and Charlie dominating in the air and in front of goal.</p> <p>Is it enough to declare that the Baggers are back? Maybe not quite yet... But the signs are looking better than they were the last time they arrived in Adelaide a few weeks ago.</p> <p>On the selection front, the Crows are sweating on the fitness of their bookends. They know they will be without key defender Nick Murray due to a knee complaint, but they are anxious about the fitness of forward duo Darcy Fogarty and Riley Thilthorpe. Fogarty missed the clash with Freo due to a shoulder issue, while Thilthorpe suffered a hairline fracture to his left ring finger and has a chance to play through the pain after battling through last Friday night.</p> <p>The Crows will also be without important defender Mitch Hinge after he was offered a week's suspension.</p> <p>The Blues will be compelled to make a couple of forced changes, with Jack Silvagni and Zac Williams both ruled out due to untimely injury setbacks. Midfielder Adam Cerra will be available after succesfully beating his one-match striking charge at the AFL Tribunal.</p> <p>For the latest team news, analysis, odds, and betting tips, check out our Crows vs Blues predictions and preview below.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Adelaide vs Carlton Predicted Teams</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Adelaide Predicted Team&nbsp;</h3> <p>B: Rory Laird, Josh Worrell, Isaac Cumming</p> <p>HB: Max Michalanney, Mark Keane, Wayne Milera</p> <p>C: Dan Curtin, Jordan Dawson, James Peatling</p> <p>HF: Luke Nankervis, Riley Thilthorpe, Ben Keays</p> <p>F: Alex Neal-Bullen, Taylor Walker, Darcy Fogarty</p> <p>Foll: Reilley O’Brien, Jake Soligo, Izak Rankine</p> <p>Int: Zac Taylor, Sid Draper, Matt Crouch, Josh Rachele, Sam Berry</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Carlton Predicted Team</h3> <p>B: Nick Haynes, Jacob Weitering, Adam Saad</p> <p>HB: Matt Carroll, Mitch McGovern, Lachie Cowan</p> <p>C: Blake Acres, Patrick Cripps, Ollie Hollands</p> <p>HF: Elijah Hollands, Charlie Curnow, Matt Cottrell</p> <p>F: Jesse Motlop, Harry McKay, Corey Durdin</p> <p>Foll: Tom De Koning, George Hewett, Sam Walsh</p> <p>Int: Will White, Lachie Fogarty, Cooper Lord, Lewis Young, Adam Cerra</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Adelaide vs Carlton Prediction &amp; Betting Tips</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Head-to-Head Prediction</h3> <p>The Crows have been the Blues bogey side for a while now, with the Crows taking three of the past five meetings against the Blues.</p> <p>In fact, under Matthew Nicks, the Crows have only lost to the Blues just one time (Scott Burns coached the Crows for one game against the Blues which they lost because Nicks was ruled out with COVID), tipping the scales further in favour of the home side.</p> <p>And for good measure, despite winning their past three games at the Adelaide Oval (thanks primarily to Gather Round), their overall record there is still abysmal, and have never beaten the Crows there.</p> <p>The Crows have the seventh-best-ranked defence in the league but are prone still to concede big scores having let in 100 points on two occasions, and 90 once too.</p> <p>The Blues are still yet to concede a score greater than 85, ranking third best for defence. But that faces its sternest test yet against the highest-scoring team in the competition.&nbsp;</p> <p>The area for the Blues to exploit here is the midfield. George Hewett is in career-best form, Sam Walsh is humming again, Paddy Cripps is just doing his thing as the two-time Brownlow Medallist does that (and has gone LARGE in his past four games at Adelaide Oval) and Adam Cerra is putting together a consistent year.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Crows midfield was soundly beaten against the Dockers. They are ranked mid-table for centre clearances and will need to be on their game to match the Blues’ engine room.</p> <p>Still, we’re going with the Crows here because of the home-ground advantage.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules/afl/adelaide-crows-v-carlton-9148532">Adelaide Crows</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>First Goal Prediction</h3> <p>There’s one man who has this game circled and highlighted in his calendar from the day the fixture comes out. Ben Keays has dined out on the Blues in his past three matches against them, kicking nine goals, including the first goal on 2 occasions.&nbsp;</p> <p>He’s already kicked the first goal in a game twice this year, An every Carlton fan knows already that he’s going again here so might as well back him in.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules/afl/adelaide-crows-v-carlton-9148532">Ben Keays</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Most Disposals Prediction</h3> <p>There’s simply no denying the form of Sam Walsh or George Hewett at the moment for the Blues.&nbsp;</p> <p>Hewett has starred all season, But Walsh’s last month since moving out from the coalface has seen him return to playing his best, ball-winning at will &amp; damaging footy.&nbsp;</p> <p>Now that he’s off and running, a look at the form shows that Walsh quite enjoys playing the Crows, averaging 32.6 disposals in his last five matches against the Crows. He’s our pick for most touches once again.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Betting tip: </strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules/afl/adelaide-crows-v-carlton-9148532">Sam Walsh (30+ disposals)</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Adelaide vs Carlton Match Details</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Date:</strong> Saturday, May 3rd, 2025.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>First Bounce:</strong> 4:15 pm AEST.</p> <p><strong>Location: </strong>Adelaide Oval, Adelaide.</p> <p><strong>How to watch:</strong> Fox Footy/Kayo Sports.</p>