The 2018/19 A-League season will launch on Friday night and five exciting matches will be contested across three days.
Adelaide will have their hands full with Sydney FC in the season-opener, while the match of the round is sure to eventuate when the two Melbourne clubs lock horns on Saturday.
Plenty is expected of Perth Glory in season 14 and they will open their account at home on Sunday afternoon against Western Sydney.
A new season means a clean slate for all clubs and Adelaide will be eager to make an early impression by beating the always-dangerous Sydney FC in front of the Hindmarsh Stadium faithful.
The snuck into the finals, but the 2017/18 season was extremely open competition all-round and the Reds will be looking to improve off a campaign that only delivered six wins. Adelaide have already qualified for the FFA Cup final and if they carry some of that momentum into this match, they stand a real chance of beginning the season on the right foot.
Sydney have been the league’s benchmark for the last two seasons and they are tied on the top line of championship betting with the Victory. Their season ended with a disappointing semi-final loss to the eventual champions last time around and they will be hunting a fourth A-League title at the pointy end.
It’s nearly impossible to tip against Sydney with everything that they have accomplished in recent years and they represent value here.
We don’t have to wait long until the match of the round of Saturday night’s Melbourne Derby should be an outstanding contest.
The Victory timed their run of form to absolute perfection last season and will be confident of defending their crown after bolstering their squad with some genuine world-beaters this time around, including Keisuke Honda. They’ll undoubtedly be at their most vulnerable early in the season, however and always face a big task in overcoming their crosstown rivals.
City have also made several key signings in the offseason and enter the new season with plenty to be excited about. A-League veteran Scott Jamieson has been appointed club captain and the squad as a whole will take plenty of benefit and confidence into this match after destroying Western Sydney in a recent trial.
It’s tough to split these two sides at the best of times but given this is the first week and there’s plenty of improvement to be made, a draw looms as a potentially lucrative betting play.
An intriguing fixture across the ditch on Sunday afternoon will see the Phoenix host the Newcastle Jets.
The Jets were the league’s big surprise in 2017/18 and they will attempt to go one better than their disappointing Grand Final loss to the Victory. Ernie Merrick has really turned around this young squad and with the confidence instilled last season, they can surely be jostling for top spot in 2018/19.
Wellington have rarely troubled the top sides throughout their entire history but with the new season, so too comes new hope and a fresh opportunity at silverware. The Phoenix finished a solitary point above the bottom-placed Mariners last time and managed only four wins during the forgettable campaign.
If the Jets bring any of last season’s form into this match, they will be winning.
One of the better contests in Week 1 of the A-League looks like materialising when the Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners square off north of the border on Sunday. Neither club was particularly good in 2017/18 and both will be eager to begin this campaign on a winning note.
To their credit, the Roar did somehow work their way into the finals last season, but they exited quickly and given how open the competition was, not a lot can be taken from that result. They boast a decent team on paper and with the right combinations, they are good enough to have some impact this time around.
Obviously, the focus for the Mariners has been Usain Bolt in recent weeks and the world’s best-ever sprinter looks likely to find his way into a contract. Behind all of the hype created by the Jamaican, the Mariners have made several other key signings including Tommy Oar, who is sure to have some bearing on his team’s success.
I think that the Mariners are actually good enough to win this match in Week 1, but the draw does look an enticing betting play.
Week 1 of the A-League draws to a close in the nation’s west when an exciting Perth Glory outfit host the Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday evening.
Confidence is reportedly high in the Glory camp after they secured several good signings and after a good pre-season, and they have always looks like a team that could be extremely dangerous when everything finally clicks. With Tony Popovic at the helm, this could be their season.
The Wanderers are well and truly in a rebuilding phase and it’s tough imagining them challenging the top clubs this season.
The Glory look a terrific bet to win at home and fire a warning shot at the rest of the A-League.