As always, if you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me on Twitter or fire away in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Also a big thanks everyone who has contributed so far with the great questions, feedback and other comments we've been getting. All the official squads for Round 2 can be found here. Right then, let's get stuck into it!
Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
Victory unavailable: Contreras (suspended)
Captaincy options: Jeronimo, Ferreira, Nichols, Thompson
After hosting the game of the round last weekend Coopers Stadium may well again have that honour in Round 2, as the Reds celebrate their 10th anniversary against bitter rivals Melbourne Victory. Jeronimo and Fabio Ferreira were particularly impressive against Perth and their returns would have pleased their owners, while Adelaide's fullbacks Michael Zullo and Daniel Bowles got forward enough to suggest there will be some value in their selection. Tarek Elrich owners would have been disappointed with his relegation to the bench, however I did warn in my article last week that a spot in the starting XI was uncertain. Marcelo Carrusca's fantasy output was underwhelming; a glance at his passing statistics on the wonderful FourFourTwo Stats Zone app (which you can and should download here) shows that while he was clearly helping to construct attacks, none of his passes directly assisted any of the Reds 8 attempts on goal. The data also suggests the Reds prefer to attack from the left side - hinting at the attacking sensibilities of Zullo, as well as his combinations with left winger Cirio. Cirio was perhaps also slightly disappointing fantasy-wise, though he did manage 2 shots as well as a shot assist.
The Victory meanwhile struggled to create against their crosstown rivals. Recordings of the derby could be sold as treatment for insomnia sufferers. As this fantastic analysis from the folks at Leopold Method shows, Victory's attackers were perhaps too cautious and failed to exploit the space Heart's defenders presented them with when attempting to close down Victory's forwards. Similarly, Heart failed to take advantage of Victory's tepid pressing and space between their lines; Adelaide will likely not make this mistake. I suggested Victory would be hurt by Mark Milligan's absence, and they were in an attacking sense, as Milligan often serves to come from deep to contribute to attacks (this is also noted in the article). His return this week should therefore be a boost for the Victory. Of Victory's attackers, Mitch Nichols looked the most likely to create or score, while James Troisi seemed like he may need a few games to adjust to life in the A-League. However, I still think he will start ahead of Gui Finkler. Similar to Adelaide, Victory's fullbacks Jason Geira and Adama Traore may get forward enough to occasionally create and therefore be of some value; Traore was particularly influential on Saturday night.
Last season the Victory took the first game 2-1 in Melbourne, while Adelaide won their home games 4-2 and 1-0. Ferreira scored twice in the 4-2 win, while Carrusca and Jeronimo both found the back of the Victory's net. Based on their Round 1 performance, and the likelihood of goals in this game, I think Ferreira and Jeronimo are both solid captaincy options. Milligan scored in the 2-1 win for Victory, but as he's surely not 100% I'm wary to recommend him. Archie Thompson loves playing Adelaide, however he hasn't found the net against the Reds since the 2011/12 season, where he scored in both 1-1 draws in Melbourne that season. Kosta Barbarouses returns from international duty, though Ange may elect to give Connor Pain another start if Kosta's not 100% so I'd be cautious about giving him the captaincy. Victory haven't won in Adelaide since September 2009, so I am leaning towards an Adelaide win here, though I expect goals at both ends so consider this when selecting your on-field defenders. Also, before rushing to trade in Jeronimo and Ferreira, consider Adelaide next plays the Mariners and Wanderers away; and that Jeronimo has never scored away from Coopers Stadium in the A-League.
Melbourne Heart v Central Coast
Mariners unavailable: McBreen (out on loan), Kwasnik (injured), McGlinchey (returning from international duty)
Captaincy options: Duke, Flores, Rose, Roux
While both teams started the season by picking up a point, it was done in very different circumstances. As already mentioned, the Heart successfully stifled an unenterprising Victory side in the derby, though in electing to play long balls to their wingers instead of playing through the middle perhaps kicked away any chance they had at taking advantage. It remains to be seen whether Aloisi will favour this approach every week, though it makes Heart players even less appealing as fantasy prospects. I can't really say any Heart player stood out last week as a potential inclusion for my fantasy team, and this week they face a very tough test in the reigning champions.
The Mariners meanwhile started brightly against the Wanderers, and led through a combination from Marcos Flores, once again looking the goods, and Mitchell Duke, perhaps surprisingly leading the line in place of Matt Simon. This no doubt pleased Graham Arnold. Also in something of a surprise, both fantasy cheapies Zac Anderson and Storm Roux started in defence for the Mariners, while Marcel Seip warmed the Bunnings. Despite Roux showing he can contribute offensively, Anderson owners were left the happier as the Mariners conceded once Zac had left the field (with his clean sheet bonus tucked away). I'd consider bringing in Duke, at least until Daniel McBreen returns, as it seems Arnie will favour him to start in place of Simon - so if you have Simon, perhaps make the trade to Duke and pocket some cash to strengthen your team elsewhere next week. Liam Reddy is clearly second choice to Justin Pasfield, and must be traded out as soon as possible if he's your #1 keeper.
Last season the Mariners swept the Heart, winning 1-0, 2-0 and 2-1. Pedj Bojic, now at Sydney, scored all the goals in the first two meetings, while McBreen and Duke found the net in the 2-1. Richard Garcia, also now at Sydney, got the lone Heart goal. I'm thinking a low scoring, but comfortable win for the Mariners here, and I can't see the Heart scoring (with Michael Mifsud again missing) unless Harry Kewell conjures something special, so Josh Rose and Roux may be considered captaincy options, as should be Duke and Flores.
Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC
Sydney unavailable: McFlynn, Triantis, Antonis, Bosschaart, Gameiro (injured), Yao (returning from international duty), Powell, McDonald (youth team duty)
Captaincy options: Berisha, Broich, Franjic, Del Piero
Despite very different stories in preseason, both of these teams started their campaign with a win. The Roar struggled in Wellington, particularly in the first half where they only managed one shot on target. Ivan Franjic, starting in an unfamiliar central midfield role, was key to the Roar getting the points, setting up Besart Berisha for the equaliser while grabbing the winner from the rebound of Thomas Broich's shot. Franjic managed 6 shots for the game - 2 more than Berisha, and accounting for nearly half of the Roar's attempts. Unfortunately, he will likely revert to the right wing with the return of Matt McKay from Socceroos duties, though I expect he'll still be a goal threat based on his performance there at the back end of last season. It should also mean that surprise starter Kwame Yeboah will return to the bench.
Sydney meanwhile stunned many (including me) by comfortably accounting for an insipid Jets side. The Sky Blues were barely troubled all night, conceding only one shot on target, while at the other end Alessandro Del Piero was at his best, making fools of Jets defenders (though they hardly needed the help) to score the opener and then set up Joel Chianese. Sydney's fullbacks Marc Warren and Pedj Bojic also pushed up the wings a fair bit; Warren owners were no doubt happy with a clean sheet bonus from one of their cheap defenders. Richard Garcia also suggested he may be worth a look after all. However, whether Sydney can repeat the performance against a team that will actually attempt to score against them is questionable. Frank Farina gets Brett Emerton back from injury this week, however the Sky Blues still have eight players unavailable.
Last season the Roar smacked Sydney 4-2 and 3-1 at Suncorp, while the Sky Blues took the points at home with a 2-1 win. ADP scored 4 times against the Roar last season, including all 3 of Sydney's goals at Suncorp, and surely must be considered as a captaincy option if you've spent the money on him. Broich, Berisha and Franjic all found the back of the Sydney net last season, and I suspect will all be very good chances to do so again on Saturday night. Four very strong captaincy options in this game.
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory
Glory unavailable: Smeltz, Dodd, Duncan, Cernak, Makeche (injured)
Captaincy options: Goodwin, Sidnei, Nagai
This game features two sides that started their season in disappointing fashion, though one more so than the other. The Jets were absolutely atrocious against Sydney; as mentioned before, they were only able to muster a single shot on target, and in fact only managed six shots all night despite having far more of the ball (60.6% possession). A glance at the passing stats show that the top six players from the game were all Jets; however, 339 of the Jets 474 attempted passes all went backwards. It is hard to recommend bringing in any Jets player to your team based on Friday night's performance, regardless of how frustrated they were by Sydney's structure. OOP prospect Craig Goodwin managed the only on-target attempt from the Jets and assisted a shot attempt, however he is trapped in a team playing a 'style' that is not conducive to good fantasy scoring (or scoring at all). Similarly, Nathan Burns annoyed his owners by being largely ineffective; no shots at goal, no shot assists, and all five of his attempted passes into the box were unsuccessful. Gary van Egmond clearly has a lot of work to do to; though in fairness his mind was elsewhere on Friday night, while the Jets awful showing clearly caused this fan to lose his. Michael Bridges returns from injury (possibly early) and may give the Jets some direction in attack, or at least be able to point out to the rest of the team where the goal actually is. Perhaps the supporters can help out too.
Perth were also somewhat disappointing in their loss to Adelaide, especially once Adelaide had been reduced to nine men. As Tim Palmer states in his excellent analysis, Perth - like Melbourne Heart - looked to attack by hitting long balls to their wingers Sidnei and Ryo Nagai, somewhat hampering their effectiveness in the process. Nonetheless, they remained Perth's most likely attackers, with Nagai notching a goal from his 2 shots - the same number as Sidnei, who assisted Nagai's goal. Meanwhile, super-cheap midfield option Ryan Edwards spent more time shutting down Isaias than creating as you'd expect a #10 to do, with Edwards managing no shots or shot assists. Owners will be hopeful that Ali Edwards won't stress as much about shutting down Ruben Zadkovich or Zenon Caravella. Fellow cheapie Jamie Maclaren was also disappointing, with only 2 shots off target and 2 (successful) passes into the box to show for his game. Both Brandon O'Neill and footballing hitman Steve Pantelidis started in defence, giving fantasy managers a couple of cheaper options, however Michael Thwaite is in the squad this week, so make sure you have cover if you own either player. Josh Risdon suggested he may become a fantasy option, creating four chances for Perth while pushing up on the right flank.
Despite being very ordinary for most of last season, the Glory swept the Jets, winning 3-2 and 3-0 at home and 2-1 away - Steven McGarry, Chris Harold and Adam Taggart are the only scorers from last season available for this game. I suspect Perth will win this one too, possibly keeping a clean sheet in the process. As for captaincy options... I'd recommend looking elsewhere. Maybe Craig Goodwin is worth a punt if you think the Jets might keep a clean sheet - he'd probably be the most likely to pinch a goal for them too. For Perth, maybe Sidnei or Nagai. The Glory play the bottom four sides from last season over the next four weeks - Jets away, Heart home, Sydney home, Phoenix away - so perhaps don't give up on their players after one ordinary week. Newcastle however have a much tougher run ahead, so if there is no improvement on Sunday, consider moving on any Jets you have.
Wanderers v Wellington
Phoenix unavailable: Adams, Boyd (omitted), Watson (released), Rufer (international duty), Fenton, Italiano (injury)
Captaincy options: Juric, Hersi, Bridge, Hernandez, Brockie
Last season's premiership table bookends both failed to pick up a win in Round 1, though there were promising signs for both. As Kate Cohen points out in this piece at Leopold Method, the Wanderers are clearly trying to evolve their style this season, and will be attempting to play out from the back more frequently than in the previous campaign. What relevance does this have for fantasy? For a start, it means the Wanderers ultimately will be more capable at playing with the ball when facing teams happy to let them keep it (such as Wellington may do on Sunday). This should see an increase in output from Wanderers forwards, who were largely irrelevant to fantasy managers last season. It's good news for Tomi Juric owners, who no doubt would have been thrilled with his goal off the Bunnings on Saturday, having initially feared the worst. I'd expect Juric will be starting for the Wanderers sooner rather than later, so if you want him make his transfer a priority. The Wanderers also play a few defensively suspect sides in the upcoming rounds, including Sydney, Adelaide and Victory. Youssouf Hersi provided the assist for Juric's goal, and should once again be dangerous for the Wanderers this season. Brendon Santalab's time may be restricted at this point, so if you have him consider trading him out for Juric or Jeronimo. Mark Bridge also reaffirmed that he is a fantasy option, mustering 4 shots for the game. Perhaps the biggest disappointment for his owners was that Shinji Ono was absent from the starting XI, though he showed his class after coming on, creating two chances. I'd expect when at full fitness, Ono will start at #10, pushing Aaron Mooy back into a deeper midfield role.
Wellington meanwhile would be disappointed after conceding the winner in the last minute of stoppage time to Brisbane. The Nix (missing several key players) clearly set up to stifle Brisbane, looking to hit the Roar on the counter. Cheapie defender Michael Boxall would have excited any of his owners who did not relegate him to the bench by setting up Stein Huysegems for the opener, but it was all downhill from there for the Nix, who conceded 22 fouls in the match to the Roar's 7. Carlos Hernandez attempted four shots and created three chances, suggesting he will be an option for fantasy managers this season regardless of how Wellington fare. Kenny Cunningham may also be worth keeping an eye on, with his pace likely to suit Wellington's style. Of course, it is difficult to read too much into the value of Phoenix players, considering their All Whites were missing - all of whom are back for this game. Most of left back Reece Caira's (effective) contributions were in his own half, suggesting he will not be as aggressive as other fullbacks and perhaps should be kept on the bench if you own him.
The Phoenix won the first encounter between these sides last season, when Jeremy Brockie and the breeze beat Ante Covic, while the Wanderers won the follow up in Wellington 2-0 thanks to goals from Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Labinot Haliti, and then 2-1 at home. Both Ono and Bridge converted a penalty in that game, while Brockie scored again for the Nix. The Wanderers are surely strong favourites to again take the points at home, and I'd strongly consider selecting Juric or Hersi as captain; Bridge may also be a reasonable choice, while if you think Wellington can conjure something then Hernandez is your man, or perhaps Brockie if you think he can find a 'second wind' and play an important role for Wellington on Sunday.