Melbourne vs Essendon Preview & Prediction | 2025 AFL | Regular Season | Round 5

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The Melbourne Demons head to the Gather Round taking aim at the Essendon Bombers.

Kick-off date/time: Saturday 12th April, 2025: UK – 10:35am / Local – 7:05pm / Friday 11th April, US ET – 5:35am / US PT – 2:35am

How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Some matches are televised on Fox Sports channels

How to watch online: UK – discovery+ & Watch AFL / US – Watch AFL

The prediction

The Melbourne Demons have been the disappointment of the 2025 season. They barely fired a shot against Geelong last week after their ten-goal loss to the Suns the week prior. Essendon come fresh off the bye and a comeback win at Port Adelaide, so will fancy their chances of climbing away from the cellar-dwellers.

The Demons have won four of the previous five matchups, the lone win for the Bombers came in the corresponding Gather Round match in 2023. Only once has either team scored greater than 100 points so we would expect another low scoring affair this time around.

Zach Merrett has been a shining light for the Bombers, averaging north of 32 possessions per game, as has Clayton Oliver for the Demons. Oliver has a strong record against the Bombers and if he can avoid a tag for the majority of the evening, 35+ touches is well and truly on the cards.

We think the Bombers can do just enough in this matchup of teams struggling to find their identity in 2025.

Melbourne vs Essendon tip: Essendon to win by 1-39 points