Adelaide had a great season the last time as a marked improvement from the previous campaign saw them end the season in a playoff place and the 5th position overall. However, they have lost a couple of players in the summer with Daniel Adlung and Johan Absalonsen who were their biggest attacking threats last season all leaving them ahead of this campaign.
With those major absentees, it looks like it would be another tough season for them. They would be looking at the duo of Ken Ilso and Mirk Boland to make up for the loss of their two big stars, but starting your season against the team that has won the last two titles might be too much to deal with.
Sydney FC won the top division last season after an impressive campaign that ended with a 14 points gap over second-placed Newcastle Jets. However, they did lose their top scorer over the past two seasons as Devison Bobo who scored 27 goals last season as he left them to return to the Turkish top flight.
They have also replaced the very successful Graham Arnold with rookie manager Steve Corica, and it would be interesting to see how long the team gets adjusted to these changes.
Sydney FC have won five and drawn one of their last six meetings with Adelaide United, last falling to defeat in April 2016.
