A-League Round 1 Tips & Preview - New A-League season gets underway

Read on below for the fixtures schedule.

Both sides underachieved last season, with Adelaide barely holding onto sixth spot and Sydney missing the finals altogether. The Douglas Costa saga is finally over, with the Sky Blues arguably making the most impressive signing of the offseason in current Peru international Piero Quispe, who at 24 years of age should arrive at the peak of his powers. Adelaide have lost striker Archie Goodwin to the MLS (but have regained the services of Socceroos winger Craig Goodwin) and made the controversial decision to sack Carl Veart as manager - will the decision pay off or are the Reds set for a tumble down the ladder?

Two more sides who struggled last season. Brisbane finished in second-last spot, while Macarthur suffered a dreadful mid-season fall from grace to miss out on the finals. Tough to see the Roar turning things around, but they will be hoping English striker Chris Long - who signed on from Crewe in League 2 - can provide some goals up front. Macarthur meanwhile have made some decent signings over the offseason, led by Socceroos midfielder Anthony Cacares, who links up with former teammate Luke Bratton in midfield.

Could be the match of the opening round as reigning champions City come up against an improving Wanderers outfit, desperate to get back to their glory days under Alen Stajcic. City have lost some experience, with Steven Ugarkovic, Yonatan Cohen and Marco Tilio all departing, but they have picked up the services of Japanese striker Takeshi Kanamori, who has played over 400 professional games. The Wanderers were also left decimated, with Johnny Warren Medalist Nicolas Milanovic, Zac Sapsford, and Oscar Priestman all leaving for Europe. Alou Kuol and Kosta Barbarouses are the main attacking reinforcements.

Rematch of last year's semi-final playoff, which Victory emerged triumphant before going down in the GF to rivals City. The common theme each A-League season is player movement and Victory have also been hit hard, with Kasey Bos, Daniel Arzani, Ryan Teague, Mitch Langerak and Zinedine Machach all moving on. Auckland meanwhile will be out to prove their minor premiership triumph was no fluke and they've retained the bulk of their squad, along with adding English striker Sam Cosgrove.

Nothing like a Distance Derby to kick off the season. Both sides experienced horror campaigns last season, with Perth picking up another wooden spoon and Phoenix failing to back up their impressive previous year, finishing down in 11th spot with just six wins for the season. Tough to see either side breaking into the top six - Wellington have also lost Barbarouses, who accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the team's goals last term, while David Zdrillic and Stan Lazaridis have a mighty task ahead of them to turn Glory's fortunes around.

The F3 derby concludes the opening round as Australia Cup champions Newcastle look to continue their impressive start to life under Mark Milligan against their bitter rivals. The Mariners have endured a chaotic fall from grace after their premiership winning campaigns, with coach Mark Jackson also recently departing. Wouldn't be surprising to see Central Coast finish bottom of the pile, while the Jets have a great balance of youth and experience, along with a hungry coach looking to prove himself - could the finals be on the horizon this term?