Sydney FC vs Newcastle Jets - Friday 7:30pm

Team & Ladder Ranking: Sydney FC (finished 8th last seson)

Keep Up The Good Work: Del Piero. Scored an immense number of goals in a very poor side last year.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: They could have tried defending.

Team & Ladder Ranking: Newcastle Jets (finished last season 7th)

Keep Up The Good Work: HESKEY!

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Everything really. They weren't that bad. They weren't that good. They were just average. Which in the A-League is good enough to get you close to a finals spot.

Prediction: HESKEYTIME! 4-2 Jets. Yes I know he's hurt.

Central Coast Mariners vs Western Sydney Wanderers - Saturday 5:30pm

Team & Ladder Ranking: Central Coast Mariners (finished 2nd last seson)

Keep Up The Good Work: Graham Arnold. Keeps his club ticking along despite constant change and no money.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Not lose to us in Gosford!

Team & Ladder Ranking: Western Sydney Wanderers (finished last season 1st)

Keep Up The Good Work: Ono, Shinji Ono! Dominated towards the end of last season, scoring vital goals against the likes of Melbourne Victory & Brisbane.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: If Tomi Juric can improve on Dino K then the Wanderers can win the title at a canter.

Prediction: 3-0 Wanderers.

Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne Heart - Saturday 7:45pm

Team & Ladder Ranking: Melbourne Victory (finished 3rd last seson)

Keep Up The Good Work: Archie Thompson is likely on his way to Brazil at the end of the season based on his ability to always get results.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Defensive frailties saw their push for a Premiership or Championship title derailed, although they had the excuse of a first year under a new manager.

Team & Ladder Ranking: Melbourne Heart (finished last season 9th)

Keep Up The Good Work: Their members for continuing to show up despite how badly their team play.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Not suck.

Prediction: 5-1 Victory.

Adelaide United vs Perth Glory - Sunday 4:30pm

Team & Ladder Ranking: Adelaide United (finished 4th last seson)

Keep Up The Good Work: Jerónimo Neumann is going to have to take a huge role in the success or failure of his team this season.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: They fell apart towards the end of the season, and never really pushed the league leaders enough to threaten for a title.

Team & Ladder Ranking: Perth Glory (finished last season 6th)

Keep Up The Good Work: Alistar Edwards performed a near-miracle after taking over from

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Smeltz performing to his true ability, and less injuries.

Prediction: 1-0 Adelaide.

Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar - Sunday 5:30pm

Team & Ladder Ranking: Wellington Phoenix (finished 10th last seson)

Keep Up The Good Work: The new owners, for actually buying the club despite their rubbish status.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Another example of 'everything'.

Team & Ladder Ranking: Brisbane Roar (finished last season 5th)

Keep Up The Good Work: Mike Mulvey is creating a new revolution at the Roar, and if his side continues to believe in his message they will go far.

Things They Could Have Done Better Last Year: Luke Brattan is at a crossroads, he needs to do more than just be "the guy Ange said is the best passer at the club."

Prediction: 10-0 Roar. Wellington are that bad.

Western Sydney Wanderers

Last Season: A fairytale first season for the new Western Sydney Wanderers team. Tony Popovic brought a disparate group of players collected from across the world, and turned them into a Premiership winning club. After a slow start, the Wanderers roared into life with a win in their first away Sydney Derby, then destroyed Adelaide 6-1 at home. An epic 10 game winning streak began in the latter half of the season, and continued as an unbeaten streak through winning the Premiership in their first year. The post-season cup saw the Wanderers boss the Brisbane Roar, defeating them for the 4th time in a season, before falling 2-0 to the Mariners in the cup final.

In: A very settled squad saw only 4 new additions. Tomi Juric takes up the Dino Kresinger role, coming from Adelaide after they failed to secure his services for another year. Brendon Santalab adds depth to the forward line and will push a case for selection throughout the season. Dean Heffernan adds defensive steel and experience as a replacement for Tarek Elrich. National Team defender Matthew Spiranovic gives the Wanderers immense quality in the central defensive position.

Out: Strikers Dino Kresinger & Joey Gibbs were both released as the club looked to improve the level of goalscoring up front. Tarek Elrich left for Adelaide in search of more first team action. Reece Caira did likewise, as he moved to Wellington to take up a starting role under new manager Ernie Merrick. Rocky Visconte appeared to be a victim of the salary cap, despite firing the 3rd goal in the Wanderers Premiership winning final match of the season he was released and joined Suphanburi of Thailand.

Pre-Season: Western Sydney took in a tour of Asia in this pre-season, as preparation for their Asian Champions League campaign at the back end of the season. The season began with a 2-0 win over Macarthur Rams at Campbelltown. A trip to Canberra saw a 3-1 victory against Canberra Olympic. Brendon Santalab then scored a late brace to snatch a 2-1 victory after Wellington scored in the 81st minute. The Asian tour began in Japan against Shimizu S-Pulse, Juric & Appiah securing a 2-2 draw. Chinese team Guangzhou R&F provided a youth squad as a training exercise and they were duly punished 5-0. The Wanderers left Japan on the back of a 2-1 loss to Tokyo Verdy. The first ever Wanderers match at Penrith ended in a 1-1 draw against Adelaide. A trip to Tasmania saw the first ever concession of 3 or more goals by Western Sydney, in their 3-0 loss against the Victory. The club closed out their pre-season by defeating Bankstown City 2-0 at Jensen Park.

Key Players: If Tomi Juric can score over a dozen goals this season it will go a huge way to the Western Sydney Wanderers defending their premiership. The best player in the league last season, Shinji Ono is once again a key component

Best Case Scenario: Tomi Juric scores 20+ goals and wins the Golden Boot. Santalab chimes in with a half-dozen of his patented thunderbolts and any injury or suspension concerns are handled with our immense squad depth. Shinji Ono gets even better than he was last season and wins the Johnny Warren Medal. We storm to the Premiership for the second year running, and begin our first Asian Champions League by topping the group. Adam D'Apuzzo scores his first ever A-League goal as the Wanderers defeat Melbourne Victory in front of 84,000 at ANZ Stadium in the A-League Grand Final.

Worst Case Scenario: Clive Palmer buys the club and relocates it to the Gold Coast.

Prediction: 1st. A settled squad, a brilliant manager, marquee superstars, depth across the park and transfers that massively improved the club. There is no reason why the Wanderers cannot repeat or better their feats from last season. Improving the start of the season compared to last year could see the Wanderers as run-away premiers.

Wellington Phoenix

Last Season: Wellington were a sea of red ink. A 5 game streak without winning set the scene for a dismal season. Their defence was shoddy, conceding 3 goals repeatedly, with a couple of memorable losses seeing them beaten 7-1 by Sydney FC, and 5-0 by Central Coast. Ricki Herbert quit before he was sacked toward the end of the season. They finished 10th on goal difference after finishing level with Melbourne Heart on points.

In: The biggest signing is new manager Ernie Merrick. The ex-Victory man brings trophy winning experience to a club who have yet to win anything. Carlos Hernandez comes back to the A-League following a stint in India. Reece Caira joined Wellington searching for more game time. Lewis Italiano, Luke Adams, Costa Rican import Kenny Cunningham, Alex Rufer, Josh Brindell-South and Spanish midfielder Albert Riera make up the Wellington squad.

Out: Mark Paston, Corey Gamiero, Isaka Cernak, Ian Hogg, Alex Smith, Tony Lochhead, Dani Sanchez, Jimmy Downey, Lucas Pantelis and Benjamin Totori were not deemed worthy of an extension of their stay.

Pre-Season: Wellington played Wellington Olympic, winning 4-0 to start the season. Miramar Rangers were defeated 5-2, Lower Hutt managed an entertaining 3-3 draw with the Phoenix. Petone were destroyed 6-0. Wellington suffered their first loss against the Wanderers despite scoring to lead in the 80th minute. They went on a good run for the next two games, defeating Newcastle 1-0 & Sydney FC 3-0. A NZ Capital Selection were beaten 2-1. Wellington drew 1-1 with New Zealand A, and closed out their pre-season with a 1-0 loss against Auckland City.

Key Player: Carlos Hernandez will have to take some of the creative strain off Paul Ifill, and if they can form a partnership it could lead to a finals berth. Jeremy Brockie will once again shoot toward the top of the A-League golden boot race.

Best Case Scenario: Hernandez, Ifill & Brockie start slamming goals in from across the park, with Durante and Sigmund being helped out by Reece Caira to keep clean sheets on a regular basis.

Worst Case Scenario: It's hard to imagine a worse year than last season. I can only suggest that more injuries to the likes of Hernandez, Ifill & Brockie could render them impotent going forward.

Prediction: 9th. Their have a shocking lack of depth, and their defence isn't much stronger than last season. Merrick could bring more structure to the team, but I don't think they can hope for better than 5th or 6th and being knocked out in week one of the finals.

Overall Prediction:

1. Western Sydney
   
2. Roar
   
3. Victory
   
4. Mariners
   
5. Perth Glory
   
6. Adelaide
   
7. Newcastle
   
8. Heart
   
9. Wellington Phoenix
   
10. Sydney FC