As the Isuzu UTE A-League Men season kicks off, so does Official A-League Men’s Fantasy for another campaign.
This weekend, the Isuzu UTE A-League gets underway, offering you another chance to get off to a blinding start; with the advent of the Club Championship – a table that ranks your combined score across A-League Men & A-League Women Fantasy – it’s more important than ever to be firing on all cylinders in both competitions.
To help you make those last-minute changes to your A-League Men Fantasy squad, here are the 10 players predicted to score highest in Round 1.
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Jamie Maclaren – Melbourne City
- Position: FWD
- Price: $579k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 15 points
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Jamie Maclaren won his fifth Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot last season and will be a hot favourite to repeat the feat in 2023-24.
Maclaren converted 21 big scoring chances in the 2022-23 season, five more than any other player in the competition.
The new Melbourne City captain kicks off the new campaign against Western United on Saturday, October 21.
Brandon Borrello – Western Sydney Wanderers
- Position: FWD
- Price: $509k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 14 points
Brandon Borrello arrived at Western Sydney ahead of the 2022-23 season, and exploded into life as a makeshift number nine under Marko Rudan.
Borrello scored 13 goals in the 2022-23 season, 4.9 more than his expected goals value suggested – the second-best positive differential of any player in the competition (Craig Goodwin +6).
The Wanderers take on Wellington Phoenix at home on Sunday afternoon to begin the 2023-24 campaign.
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Marco Tulio – Central Coast Mariners
- Position: FWD
- Price: $429k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 14 points
After the departure of a number of key players at the Champions in the off-season, Marco Tulio stands out as the talismanic figure to lead the Mariners’ attack into the 2023-24 season. The Brazilian put up huge fantasy numbers in 2022-23, scoring at an average of 9.0, rising from a starting price of $252k to $525k, and boasting one incredible single-round score of 40.
Túlio created 11 big scoring chances in the 2022-23 season; only Craig Goodwin (20) logged more in the campaign. The Mariners take on Adelaide United on Friday night in the season opener.
Jay O’Shea – Brisbane Roar
- Position: MID
- Price: $545k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 13 points
Jay O’Shea is central to Brisbane Roar’s hopes of success this season, operating as the linchpin between midfield and attack for Ross Aloisi’s side. O’Shea averaged 11.5 points per round last season, and has scored 37 fantasy points across his last three games against his Round 1 opponents Macarthur FC.
O’Shea created 28 scoring chances from set plays in the 2022-23 season; only Craig Goodwin logged more in the campaign with 53.
Henry Hore – Brisbane Roar
- Position: MID
- Price: $340k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 11 points
Henry Hore has an expected Round 1 score of 11 points due to his historical performance against Macarthur FC; Hore has scored 12 points, nine points and 14 points in his last three games against the Bulls.
His starting role is not assured this season with the likes of Florin Berenguer, Nikola Mileusnic and Carlo Armiento to compete with for positions in the final third, but you can leave a decision on selecting Hore up to the final hour before kick-off on Saturday afternoon thanks to the rolling lockout in A-Leagues Fantasy.
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Ryan Kitto – Adelaide United
- Position: MID
- Price: $432k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 10 points
Ryan Kitto was a consistent performer last season, finishing with an average of 9.1 as his price rose $169k by the end of the season. Kitto was named Adelaide United captain in the off-season after Craig Goodwin’s departure, and his first task as Reds skipper is to take on the Champions in Central Coast Mariners on Friday night.
Kitto has performed well against the Mariners in the past, notching scores of 16 points, six points and five points in his past three regular-season games against Friday’s opponents.
Florin Berenguer – Brisbane Roar
- Position: MID
- Price: $349k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 10 points
Florin Berenguer is the third Brisbane Roar player to feature in the top-10 predicted scorers for Round 1. The new Roar signing arrives from Melbourne City; the French midfielder had an injury-hampered season at City but will look to burst out of the gates at his new club.
Berenguer has scored 20 points, 16 points and six points in his last three outings against Macarthur.
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Alou Kuol – Central Coast Mariners
- Position: FWD
- Price: $348k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 10 points
Alou Kuol is a star recruit for Central Coast. Signed from Stuttgart in the off-season, Kuol returns to the league for the first time since 2020-21 when he emerged from the Mariners’ academy to seal a move abroad.
Kuol and the Mariners face Adelaide in the season opener on Friday night. Keep an eye out for the team sheets as they drop at 6.45pm AEDT to see if Kuol plays from the start at Coopers Stadium; his minutes could be restricted due to competition with Dylan Wenzel-Halls.
Anthony Caceres – Sydney FC
- Position: MID
- Price: $323k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 10 points
Anthony Caceres began the 2022-23 season with a price tag of $452k – a figure that dropped by more than $130k throughout the season as he averaged just 6.8 points per round. But beginning the new campaign prices at $323k offers the Sydney FC midfielder the chance to reward owners this season with form capable of growing his value back to that starting point of one year prior.
Caceres (42) created the third-most scoring chances in open play of any players in the 2022-23 A-League Men season. He faces Melbourne Victory on the opening weekend – a team he scored a total of 30 points against across three games last season.
Lachlan Rose – Macarthur FC
- Position: FWD
- Price: $317k
- Predicted Round 1 score: 10 points
Can Lachlan Rose make a fast start in 2023-24 against the Roar?
The Macarthur forward is tipped to score well against Brisbane in Round 1 – but whether or not he gets the chance to make his mark as a starter under Bulls boss Mile Sterjovski is yet to be determined. Rose has struggled for minutes at Macarthur, and started just nine games (13 appearances) in 2022-23. But he has scored well historically against Roar, registering a 14 and eight-point score in two of his last three games against the Queenslanders.
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