A-League Round 1 (6/8 to 9/8)

Melbourne Victory v Central Coast
Adelaide United v Perth Glory


Finally the A-League season is upon us! Another exciting season is in prospect as defending champions, Melbourne Victory, will attempt to go down in A-League history as the first team to successfully defend the title. It will be much tougher this season round with two new franchises added to the competition, North Queensland Fury and the big spending Gold Coast United. The former has signed Liverpool legend and world renowned striker Robbie Fowler while the latter have captured the services of current Australian International and former PSV starlet, Jason Culina.

Thursday, 6 August
Melbourne v Central Coast

Preview: Defending Champions, Melbourne Victory, will go into this game full of confidence knowing that they have bettered today's opponents in recent times (3-1-0; 12:5). In addition, Melbourne have largely kept hold of their squad from last season and made good replacements for the few that have gone. Notably, goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos has departed to Norwich City but has been replaced by a man with very good credentials in New Zealand International, Glen Moss. It is also worth mentioning that Victory have retained the services of the best playmaker in the league, Costa Rican International Carlos Hernandez, on a permanent basis for another 3 years.
On the other hand, Central Coast seem to have moved backwards since the closure of last season. They have not won a competitive fixture in 2009 which equates to 11 games including four straight defeats in the Asian Champions League. To make matters worse, they have lost some key members from the 08/09 squad which finished fourth last season. Notably, Central Coast's best player in Mile Jedinak has left for the Turkish League while striker Sasha Petrovski has followed him out the door. Jedinak's presence will be soarly missed in the middle of the park, and it does not look that he has been aptly replaced.

Verdict: Central Coast have only had 5 weeks break and 5 weeks to prepare for the new season while Victory have had an uninterrupted pre-season of three months. Central Coast have always been vulnerable in defence and without the presence of Jedinak to protect the backline, I expect a busy night for the visitors.

Pick: Melbourne -1 @ 2.80 (Book: Expekt, Stake: 6 units)
Melbourne 0 - 2 Central Coast

Friday, 7 August
Adelaide United v Perth Glory

Preview: Last year's A-League and ACL finalists, Adelaide United, meet a revamped Perth Glory side. Both teams seems to be in disarray even before a ball has been kicked in anger. Adelaide have several players in doubt with Swine flu whereas a cloud hangs over the match fitness of some of Perth's new recruits.
Perth has recruited well this year (and they needed to) with current Australian internationals in Sterjovski, Burns and Chris Coyne bolstering their ranks. In addition, they have signed Serbian born Branko Jelic from Bundesliga side (now in B2) Energie Cottbus. The home team's notable loss from last season's high achieving squad is Sasa Ognenovski, replaced by former Sydney United defender, Ian Fyfe. New Adelaide recruit, giant Ghanaian striker Lloyd Owusu, is almost a certain non-starter while he recovers from Swine flu, as is defender Robert Cornthwaite although the latter might just make it.

Verdict: It is difficult to draw a definitive line on this game with so many doubts to key players. Adelaide look the more settled outfit but it will be wise to wait closer to kick off until we have a clearer idea on the line-ups.

Pick: Perth +0.5 @1.96 (Book: BetInternet, Stake: 5 units)
Adelaide Utd 1 - 0 Perth