It's that time of year again! The Izuzu Ute A-League season will kick off this Friday night and continue throughout the summer. It's set to be an exciting season with Melbourne City looking to defend their first title.
We will have weekly betting tips for every round of the season so be sure to check out our Soccer Tips page. However, today, we are taking a look at some of our favourite future betting tips and breaking down our pick to win the championship.
A-League Season Betting Tips
Melbourne City
Title Odds: $4.33
New signings: Mathew Leckie, Jordon Hall, Manuel Pucciarelli
Departures: Moudi Najjar, Ramy Najjarine, Naoki Tsubaki, Craig Noone, Adrian Luna, Ben Garuccio
Melbouren City will be favourites to defend their title, starting at a price of $4.33 after securing one of the biggest signings of the off-season. Socceroos stalwart Mathew Leckie will join City, combining with Andrew Nabbout and Jamie Maclaren to create the best front three in the league. They did lose Adrian Luna, but that's about all in terms of notable losses. Should be the team to beat once again.
Sydney FC
Title Odds: $4.50
New signings: Max Burgess, James Donachie, Connor O’Toole, Patrick Yazbek, Elvis Kamsoba
Departures: Alexander Baumjohann, Patrick Flottmann, Jordi Swibel, Ryan McGowan, Luke Ivanovic, Anton Mlinarić (loan to Brisbane Roar)
Not a whole lot to talk about in terms of signings or departures for Sydney FC, but that's not neccessarily a bad thing, as the Sky Blues were a force last year and no doubt they will be again in 21/22. They haven't finished outside of the top 2 since all the way back in 2015-16 and I can't see them finishing much lower than third at the very worst again this season.
Melbourne Victory
Title Odds: $7.50
New signings: Ben Folami, Jason Geria, Josh Brillante, Jason Davidson, Stefan Nigro, Matthew Spiranovic, Chris Ikonomidis, Brendan Hamill, Rai Marchan, Ivan Kelava, Nick D'Agostino, Roderick Miranda, Francesco Margiotta, Jerrad Tyson (injury replacement)
Departures: Nick Ansell, Max Crocombe, Storm Roux, Adama Traore, Ryan Shotton, Dylan Ryan, So Nishikawa, Rudy Gestede, Callum McManaman, Jacob Butterfield, Elvis Kamsoba, Matthew Bozinovski (loaned out to Wellington Phoenix)
After a really disappointing season last year which saw them finish dead last on the table last year, the Melbourne Victory had a busy off-season which saw no fewer than 12 players in their squad replaced. The biggest inclusion was 26 year old winger Chris Ikonomidis from Perth. I think the bookies opening them as 3rd favouite for the title is a little ambitious, but anything is possible when it comes to a club as successful as the Victory.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Title Odds: $7.50
New signings: Adama Traore, Ramy Najjarine, Tomer Hemed, Rhys Williams, Terry Antonis, Johnny Koutroumbis, Dimi Petratos, Keijiro Ogawa, Tomas Mejias
Departures: Kosta Grozos, Mohamed Al-Taay, Nicolai Muller, Patrick Ziegler, Scott McDonald, Noah James, Mitchell Duke, Simon Cox, Graham Dorrans, Bruce Kamau, Dylan McGowan, Jordon Mutch, Kwame Yeboah
The Wanderers had a disappointing 8th place finish last season and will be looking to improve on that after a busy off-season. Their most notable signings included ex-Jet Dimitri Petratos, Israeli international Tomer Hemed and former Socceroo Rhys Williams. With those signings, the Wanderers could be the big improvers of 2021/22.
Perth Glory
Title Odds: $9.50
New signings: Aaron Calver, Jack Clisby, Brandon O'Neill, Brad Jones, Adrian Sardinero, Pacifique Niyongabire, Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Daniel Sturridge, Mitch Oxborrow
Departures: Tando Velaphi, Jason Geria, Dane Ingham, Sebastian Langkamp, Riley Warland, Neil Kilkenny, Nick Sullivan, Brandon Wilson, Nick D’Agostino, Chris Ikonomidis, Diego Castro
The Glory finished in 9th place last season with a 9-7-10 record, but a lot of their home field advantage was taken away by the disrupted nature of the COVID affected season. They'll be looking to bounce back into the finals this season arguably the biggest name in A-League history in former Chelsea and Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge. Sturridge will not only provide the Glory with a much needed boost up forward, but should contribute to putting bums in seats after the A-League struggled in attendance numbers last season.
Macarthur FC
Title Odds: $11.00
New signings: Moudi Najjar, Ulises Davila, Daniel De Silva, Craig Noone, Tomislav Uskok, Tomi Juric, Jordon Mutch, Al Hassan Toure. Filip Kurto
Departures: Mark Milligan (retired), Benat Etxebarria (retired), Markel Susaeta (retired), Ivan Franjic, Loic Puyo, Walter Scott, Yianni Nicolaou, Milislav Popovic, Kyle Cimenti, Matt Derbyshire, Denis Genreau, Adam Federici (retired)
Macarthur FC were another busy team in the off-season after key players in the likes of Mark Milligan and Denis Genreau had to be replaced. Former Socceroo Tomi Juric will add some firepower up front while Craig Noone, Daniel De Silva and Ulises Davila should also add depth. I expect Macarthur to be around midfield again this season.
Adelaide United
Title Odds: $13.00
New signings: Nick Ansell, George Blackwood, Jacob Tratt, Isaias Sanchez, Dakota Ochsenham (short-term deal)
Departures: Ryan Strain, Domenic Costanzo, Jordan Elsey, Tomi Juric, Noah Smith, Michael Marrone, Al Hassan Toure
Adelaide's off-season was headlined by former captain and title winner Isaias Sanchez returning to the fold. United fans will also be ecstatic about the full time return of stalwart Craig Goodwin, who was on loan in Adelaide at the end of last season and will be back again to start the year. Adelaide finished 5th last season and are a good chance to make the finals again in 21/22.
Brisbane Roar
Title Odds: $13.00
New signings: Nikola Mileusnic, Matti Steinmann, Luke Ivanovic, Juan Lescano, Jordan Holmes, Jez Lofthouse, Henry Hore, Nick Olsen, Anton Mlinarić (loan from Sydney FC), Aidan Munford
Departures: Riku Danzaki, Joey Champness, Jordan Courtney-Perkins, Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Macaulay Gillesphey, Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Golgol Mebrahtu, Danny Kim, Jamie Young, Masato Kudo
Brisbane werent particularly busy during the off-season, and one of their biggest signings was from within as 26-year-old Finnish midfielder Matti Steinmann was tied down after playing a few FFA Cup games for Brisbane last season. The Roar finishe din fourth place last season, but I can see them being one of the teams that falls out of finals contention this year.
Newcastle Jets
Title Odds: $17.00
New signings: Matthew Jurman, Dane Ingham, Mohamed Al-Taay, Riley Warland, Beka Mikeltadze, Jordan Elsey, Olivier Boumal, Dylan Murnane, Daniel Penha, Samuel Silvera, Savvas Siatravanis, Kosta Grozos, Michael Weier, Eli Babalj, Mario Arqués
Departures: Nigel Boogaard (retired), Roy O’Donovan, Ali Abbas, Matt Millar, Jack Simmons, Luka Prso, Ramy Najjarine, Liridon Krasniqi, Syahrian Abimanyu, Lachlan Jackson, Lewis Italiano, Johnny Koutroumbis, Connor O'Toole, James Donachie, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Joey Champness, Cameron Devlin, Daniel Georgievski
From here out come the teams that I can see just making up the numbers in 21/22. Teh Newcastle Jets finished 11th last season, ahead of only Melbourne Victory and they weren't particularly active in the off-season oustide of the signings of former socceroos Matty Jurman and Eli Babalj.
Western United
Title Odds: $17.00
New signings: Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Ben Garuccio, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Noah Botic, Jamie Young, Neil Kilkenny, Leo Lacroix, Rene Krhin, Aleksandar Prijovic, Christian Theoharous
Departures: Mark Rudan (manager), Andrew Durante (retired), Aaron Calver, Filip Kurto, Tomislav Uskok, Iker Guarrotxena, Kaine Sheppard, Bradden Inman, Besart Berisha, Brendan Hamill, Victor Sanchez
After an impressive fifth place finish in their first season, Western United slumped all the way to 10th in season two last year. I think last year's finish is probably more indicitive of their actual squad strength, and they haven't improved on that a whole lot this season. Dylan Wenzel Halls from the Roar is their biggest signing, but they will lose the all time leading A-League goalscorer in Bersart Berisha, who now plys his trade in Kosovo.
Central Coast Mariners
Title Odds: $21.00
New signings: Nicolai Muller, Noah Smith, Cy Goddard, Beni Nkololo, Storm Roux, Yaren Sozer, Matheus Rodrigues, Jacob Farrell, Max Balard
Departures: Alen Stajcic (manager), Daniel De Silva, Jack Clisby, Alou Kuol, Gianni Stensness, Jordan Smylie, Matthew Cahill
Of any of these bottom three teams, the Mariners no doubt have the best chance of surprising us and finishing higher up the ladder. They finished 3rd last season with a 12-6-8 record and with games back at home this season, they will have a strong home field advantage. They weren't extremely active in the off-season but why would you be after finishing 3rd.
Wellington Phoenix
Title Odds: $21.00
New signings: Gary Hooper, Callan Elliot, Nicholas Pennington, Ben Old, Alex Paulsen, Matthew Bozinovski (on loan from Melbourne Victory), Luka Prso
Departures: Ulises Davila, Stefan Marinovic, Cameron Devlin, Luke DeVere, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Charles Lokoli-Ngoy, Liam McGing, Mirza Muratovic, Matthew Ridenton, Tomer Hemed, Steven Taylor
It was a tough season for Wellington last year as they were unable to play any of their home games in New Zealand. They will begin the 21/22 season in Australia again this year, which could be really tough for them, especially considering they haven't been able to replace a few key departures. They did incredibly will to finish in 7th place last season but I expect them to fall down the ladder considerably this year.
