Melbourne Heart FC v Central Coast Mariners FC

Thursday night sees the debut of the League in 2010/2011 and of new club Melbourne Heart FC. Coach John van 't Schip has done a very good job of bringing together a more than competive squad, which should also play some entertaining football. Graham Arnold's return to club coaching after 10 years hasn't exactly excited fans on the Central Coast but the squad that is coming together has, even if their pre-season has been light. Expect a close game, with my bold prediction being a close Mariners win (ok, so I'm a Mariners fan). It will be great to see Josip Skoko back on home turf, but watch out for young Mariner Olly Bozanic who has been lighting up pre-season.

Thursday, 5 August, 2010 - AAMI Park, Melbourne - Local kick-off: 7.30pm AEST

Referee: Chris Beath

Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3, FS3 HD & delayed on Sky Sports 1. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 774 ABC (Melbourne), SEN Digital and 96.3 Coast FM (Gosford). To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au http://www.ticketek.com.au>

Melbourne Heart squad: 1. Clint BOLTON (gk), 2. Michael MARRONE, 3. Brendan HAMILL, 4. Simon COLOSIMO (c), 5. Michael BEAUCHAMP, 6. Matthew THOMPSON, 7. Rutger WORM, 9. Gerald SIBON, 10. Wayne SRHOJ, 11. ALEX TERRA, 17. Jason HOFFMAN, 19. Eli BABALJ, 20. Josip SKOKO, 21. Kliment TASESKI, 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Dean HEFFERNAN, 24. Aziz BEHICH, 20.Peter ZOIS
*three to be omitted*

Unavailable: John ALOISI (Hamstring - 4 weeks), Kristian SARKIES (Leg - Indefinite), 14.Kamal IBRAHIM (not selected), 18.Ante TOMIC (not selected)

Central Coast Mariners squad: 1. Jess VANSTRATTAN (gk), 2 Daniel MCBREEN, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 5. Brad PORTER, 6. Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 7. John HUTCHINSON, 8. Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 9. Nik MRDJA, 10. Patricio PEREZ, 11. Oliver BOZANIC, 12. Matthew LEWIS, 14. Michael McGLINCHEY, 18. Alex WILKINSON (c), 19. Matt SIMON, 20. Mathew RYAN (gk), 23. Adam KWASNIK

*one to be omitted* Unavailable: 3. Joshua ROSE (ineligible - international clearance withheld), 15. Marc WARREN (with Sheffield), 16. Trent SAINSBURY (With Sheffield), 17. Chris DOIG, 21. Sam GALLAGHER (returning from U19 duty), 22. Mustafa AMINI (not selected)

Adelaide United FC v Newcastle Jets FC

Friday night at Hindmarsh has become something of a tradition so expect a good crowd in to see a humbled but otherwise upbeat Reds host the Jets. Adelaide has a new coach in Dutchman Rini Coolen and it may take some time to move the squad along from Aurelio Vidmars style. Newcastle have been more stable in the off-season that we are used to so perhaps the newly mute Branko Culina will have his team primed. My heart says Reds, my analysis says the Jets may edge this one - it may come down to who fires on the day - Mark Bridges or Sergio van Dyjk.

Friday, 6 August, 2010 - Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide - Local kick-off: 7.30pm (8.00pm AEST)

Referee: Gerard Parsons

Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1, FS1 HD. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 1233 ABC Newcastle and . To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au http://www.ticketek.com.au

Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS (c), 8.Adam HUGHES, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK, 10.Marcos FLORES, 12.Paul REID, 16.Inseob SHIN, 17.Iain RAMSAY, 19.Mathew LECKIE, 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 24.Cameron WATSON

Unavailable: 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE (groin - 2 weeks), 13.Travis DODD (knee - 4 weeks), 14.Lloyd OWUSU (knee - indefinite), 18.Fabian BARBIERO (ankle - 4 weeks)

Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Ben Kennedy (gk), 2. Taylor Regan, 3. Adam D'apuzzo, 4. Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 5. Ljubo Milicevic, 6. Ben Kantarovski, 7. Kasey Wehrman, 8. Michael Bridges (c), 10. Ruben Zadkovich, 11. Tarek Elrich, 12. Jobe Wheelhouse, 13.Sash Petrovski, 14. Labinot Haliti, 15. Sean Rooney, 16. Jeremy Brockie, 17. Marcello Fiorentini, 18. Marko Jesic, 19. Ali Abass, 21. Brodie Mooy, 22. Kaz Patafta, 30. Paul Henderson (gk)
*six to be omitted*

Unavailable: 20. Neil Young (rgk), 9. Zhang Shou

Head-to-Head: All matches (played 16): Adelaide United 7 wins, Newcastle Jets 5 wins (4 draws)

Perth Glory FC v North Queensland Fury FC

Friday night also has Perth Glory hosting North Queensland Fury at the newly renamed 'nib' stadium in Perth. This long trip may well be one madetoo early in the season for the Fury, who have had bucket loads on drama off-season and are widely tipped as wooden spooners. Their new coach Czech Franz Straka will be hoping that David William huge inprovement last season continues into this game but with the loss of Robbie Fowler and Daniel McBreen the task to score will probably be Dyron Dahls. David Mitchell has a more settled squad and should take a clear win from this.

Friday, 6 August, 2010 - nib Stadium, Perth - Local kick-off: 8.00pm (10.00pm AEST)

Referee: Kevin Docherty

Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1, FS1 HD & Sky Sports 3. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 6PR 882AM (Perth) and Zinc 100.7 (Townsville). To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com.au http://www.ticketmaster.com.au

Perth Glory squad: 1. Tando VELAPHI, 2. Josh MITCHELL, 3. Jamie COYNE, 5. Jamie HARNWELL, 7. Jacob BURNS (c), 9.Robbie FOWLER, 10. Michael BAIRD, 11. Branko JELIC, 12. Scott NEVILLE, 14. Steven McGARRY, 16. Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17. Todd HOWARTH, 19. Naum SEKULOVSKI, 20. Aleks VRTESKI, 21. Mile STERJOVSKI, 22. Anthony SKORICH, 23. ANDRIJA JUKIC
*two to be omitted*

Unavailable: Andy TOOD (knee- 2 weeks), Victor SIKORA (hip - 2 weeks), Tommy AMPHLETT (groin - 2 weeks), Chris COYNE (on loan - 8 weeks)

North Queensland Fury FC squad: 1. Justin PASFIELD (gk), 4. Eric AKOTO, 5. Mark HUGHES, 7. Gareth EDDS (c), 8. Adam CASEY, 10. Dyron DAAL, 11. David WILLIAMS, 12. Panagiotis NIKAS, 14. Chris GROSSMAN, 15. Chris PAYNE, 16. Simon STOREY, 17. Osama MALIK, 18. Brett STUDMAN, 19. Isaka CERNAK, 20. Matthew HAM (gk), 21. Jason SPAGNUOLO
*one to be omitted*

Unavailable: 2.Jack HINGERT, 7.Ufuk TALAY, 13.Andre KILIAN, Eugene SSEPPUYA

Head-to-Head: All matches (played 3): Perth Glory 0 wins, North Queensland 2 wins (1 draw)

Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory FC

A Grand Final re-match for Saturday night. Sydney's pre-season has been arduous and may actually count against them if they fall behind, but Ernie Merrick will sorely miss Archie Thompson. I'm tipping a draw, and perhaps a scoreless one. Enough will be said in commercial media about this game, so I'll leave it there.

Saturday, 7 August, 2010 - Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney - Local kick-off: 8.00pm

Referee: Matthew Breeze

Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3, FS3 HD. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is SBS Digital 6 (Sydney) and 774 ABC (Melbourne). To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au http://www.ticketek.com.au

Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Michael PETKOVIC (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (c), 3.Mate DUGANDZIC, 5. Surat SUKHA, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Grant BREBNER, 11.Marvin ANGULO, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Billy CELESKI, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 17.Matthew FOSCHINI, 19.Evan BERGER, 20.Sebastian MATTEI (gk), 21.Robbie KRUSE, 22.Nick WARD, 23.Adrian LEIJER
*three to be omitted*

Unavailable: Archie THOMPSON (knee), Matthew KEMP (knee)

Sydney FC squad: 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL 3. Stephan KELLER, 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU, 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 10. Nick CARLE, 11. Kofi DANNING, 12. Shannon COLE, 13. Antony GOLEC, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN (c), 16. Terry ANTONIS, 17. Matthew JURMAN, 19. Mark BRIDGE, 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 21. Scott JAMIESON, 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 23. Rhyan GRANT
*five to be omitted*

Unavailable: Nil

Head-to-Head: All matches (played 18): Sydney FC 4 wins, Melbourne Victory 6 wins (8 draws)

Gold Coast United FC v Brisbane Roar FC

Miron and Ange eh? If the season launch was anything to go by this derby will be zinging! Mind games and fun and games on the field. Will Shane Smeltz play? Very hard to pick, with both coaches having had a a full off-season to consolidate but the result could be anything from a dull draw to a 7 goal-fest. Hopefully Roar have their stadium and picket prices sorted. Flip a coin? Roar.

Sunday, 8 August, 2010 - Skilled Park, Robina - Local kick-off: 3.00pm

Referee: Peter Green

Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3, FS3 HD. To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au http://www.ticketek.com.au

Gold Coast United squad: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 2.Steve PANTELIDIS, 3.Michael THWAITE, 5.ROBSON, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 8. ANDERSON, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Jason CULINA, 13.Bas van den BRINK, 14.Joel PORTER, 15.Tahj MINNIECON, 16.Kristian REES, 18.James BROWN, 19.Andrew BARISIC, 20.Scott HIGGINS, 21.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 22.Adama TRAORE, 23.Steve FITZSIMMONS, 24.John CURTIS
*five to be omitted*

Unavailable: 17.Matt OSMAN (knee - indefinite) , 30.Jerrad TYSON (not selected)

Brisbane Roar Squad: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH, 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 10. HENRIQUE, 12. Matt MUNDY, 15. Matt McKAY (c), 17. Mitch NICHOLS, 18. Luke BRATTAN, 20, Andrew REDMAYNE, 21. James MEYER, 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Milan SUSAK
*two to be omitted*

Unavailable: 9. Jean Carlo SOLORZANO (awaiting international clearance), 11. REINALDO (hamstring - 2 weeks), 14. Rocky VISCONTE (hamstring - 2 weeks)

Head-to-Head: All matches (played 3): Gold Coast United 3 wins, Brisbane Roar 0 wins (0 draws)

Free weekend: Wellington Phoenix FC

National Youth League

"The National Youth League provides players aged between 16-20 years of age a clear pathway from youth leagues to senior level and then on to professional level. When combined with existing State-based competitions, players in the national youth league will play between 35-40 games each year. Youth Players must have a minimum time on the park if in the squad.
Please note that squads are subject to change, and (OA) depicts overage player (born before 1 January 1990).

Westfield W-League

The first round of the 10 rounds of the 3rd season of the Westfield W-League will be held in November 2010. This will be a 7 team league after withdrawal of funding by FNSW and the resultant demise of Central Coast Mariners.

Chris Dunkerley for BOTN - 3 August, 2010

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