With just five rounds left to play in the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season, everything is still left to play for with the Premiership, top-six spots, Golden Boot, AFC Champions League qualification and automatic Australia Cup spots on the line.
There are so many unanswered questions and so much still to play for in the Isuzu UTE A-League in an exciting finale to the 2024-25 season.
With the Finals Series on the horizon, this is the state of play across the competition.
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: What you need to know for Round 25 of the Isuzu UTE A-League
The Premiership
Auckland FC are seven points clear at the top of the table and hot favourites to secure the Premiers Plate – but stranger things have happened in football, and head coach Steve Corica will not allow his players to get complacent as the Black Knights pursue their first piece of silverware in the club’s inaugural Isuzu UTE A-League campaign.
Western United return from the bye for Round 25 and are the closest team to Auckland, sitting seventh on 28 points, seven behind Auckland on 45.
Should Western manage to close the gap to within a win of the Black Knights by the final round, it would set up a blockbuster Round 29 fixture between the top two sides; Western host Auckland on the final weekend of the regular season in what could be a Premiership decider should Auckland drop the ball across the four games before their trip to Ironbark Fields.
Melbourne City are just one point behind Western in third on 37 points, while Melbourne Victory (36 points) and Western Sydney Wanderers (35 points) trail not far behind.
TOP-SIX RACE: Shock predicted as A-Leagues experts lock in top six tips: Here’s who they have playing finals
Victory have played one more game than the remainder of the top six and have the bye in Round 25, decreasing their chances of an unlikely Premiership push. Auckland face the in-form Wanderers this weekend in a crucial battle that could see Western Sydney move to within seven points with four games to play; should Alen Stajcic’s side beat Auckland this weekend, Western United could close the gap at the top of the table to just four points with a win over bottom-placed Perth Glory.
Watch this space: the Premiership race is far from over, and although Auckland hold a healthy lead at the top, the Isuzu UTE A-League newcomers have by no means secured top spot with five rounds to play.
Remaining fixtures – current top six
Auckland FC: Western Sydney Wanderers (H), Sydney FC (A), Melbourne Victory (A), Perth Glory (H), Western United (A).
Western United: Perth Glory (H), Western Sydney Wanderers (A), Brisbane Roar (A), Sydney FC (H), Auckland FC (H).
Melbourne City: Central Coast Mariners (H), Brisbane Roar (H), Western Sydney Wanderers (A), Adelaide United (H), Sydney FC (H).
Melbourne Victory: BYE, Wellington Phoenix (A), Auckland FC (H), Macarthur Bulls (A), Newcastle Jets (H).
Western Sydney Wanderers: Auckland FC (A), Western United (H), Melbourne City (H), Newcastle Jets (A), Macarthur Bulls (A).
Adelaide United: Sydney FC (H), Perth Glory (A), Wellington Phoenix (H), Brisbane Roar (A).
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AFC Champions League spot
There’s a spot in the lucrative AFC Champions League Elite for 2025-26 up for grabs this season – and it will go to the highest-finishing Australian side at the end of the regular season.
Auckland FC are on top of the table, occupying the position that would normally seal an ACL Elite berth – but the Black Knights are part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), meaning they are ineligible to compete in AFC club competition.
Western United are second heading into Round 25 and if the season ended today, John Aloisi’s side would secure Australia’s sole ACL Elite spot for 2025-26. But Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers will all fancy their chances of finishing as the highest-ranked Australian club side by the regular season’s end, as they all sit within two points of Western on the table.
Despite their poor form, Adelaide United cannot be written off with five games to play. The Reds are winless in their last six games having lost four times and drawn twice but four of their last five games come against teams outside the top six.
Adelaide are five points behind Western in second and are capable of making a late charge up the table.
In 2024-25, just qualifying for the AFC Champions League Elite netted teams USD$800k (AUD $1.27m).
TRANSFER TALK: Aussie goalscoring phenom provides key contract update amid transfer talk: ‘It’s up in the air’
Top-six race
Heading into Round 25, Auckland are the only team guaranteed to play finals football this season. Wellington Phoenix, Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory will all miss out on the top six, that much is confirmed. But the remaining five spots in the finals could go to as many as nine teams still battling it out for ascendancy in the standings.
Central Coast Mariners are 10th on 25 points and, over the past two rounds, have closed the gap on sixth-placed Adelaide. The Reds have lost back-to-back games while the Mariners have picked up four points from a draw and a win heading into Round 25.
The reigning champions sit one point below Newcastle Jets in 10th (seven points behind Adelaide). Macarthur Bulls are four points off the top six, but have played one more game than Adelaide.
Seventh-placed Sydney FC currently pose the biggest threat to Adelaide. Just three points separate the two sides who play each other in Round 25; Sydney’s goal difference of +10 is far healthier than Adelaide’s (+1) and, at this stage of the season, a superior goal difference can be as important as an extra point considering it is the first factor that separates sides locked level on points accumulated.
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All eyes will be on Coopers Stadium this Saturday night when the Reds host Sydney under lights in Adelaide. Last time these two sides met at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide led 3-1 heading into extra-time before a virtuoso performance from Douglas Costa led to the Sky Blues snatching a point in one of the games of the season.
Should Adelaide win, they’ll strengthen their grip on a spot in the top six. Should Sydney win, they will steal Adelaide’s place on the table and the fate of the Reds will no longer be in their own hands.
FINALS RACE: Shock predicted as A-Leagues experts lock in top six tips: Here’s who they have playing finals
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Remaining fixtures (clubs outside the top six)
Sydney FC: Adelaide United (A), Auckland FC (H), Newcastle Jets (H), Western United (A), Melbourne City (H)
Macarthur Bulls: Brisbane Roar (A), BYE, Central Coast Mariners (A), Melbourne Victory (H), Western Sydney Wanderers (H)
Newcastle Jets: Wellington Phoenix (H), Central Coast Mariners (H), Sydney FC (A), Western Sydney Wanderers (H), Melbourne Victory (A)
Central Coast Mariners: Melbourne City (A), Newcastle Jets (A), Macarthur Bulls (H), Brisbane Roar (H).
The fight for automatic Australia Cup spots
Auckland FC’s introduction to the Isuzu UTE A-League this season means there are 13 clubs in the competition for the first time in its 20-year history. As a result, there has been a shake-up of the qualification process for the 2025 Hahn Australia Cup.
In the 12-team format, the top eight sides received automatic qualification to the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup, with the bottom four sides progressing to play-offs for the league’s remaining two spots in the competition.
The play-offs used to pit ninth against 12th and 10th against 11th to decide which two Isuzu UTE A-League teams joined the top eight finishers in the Australia Cup.
With one extra club to factor into the equation in 2025, the Isuzu UTE A-League has received an 11th allocation for the Australia Cup.
Now, the nine highest finishers on the Isuzu UTE A-League table will qualify automatically for the Australia Cup, with play-offs taking place between 10th and 13th on the table, and 11th and 12th on the table.
The remaining 21 slots in the Round of 32 are allocated to member federations around Australia as follows:
- Football Victoria: Four slots
- Football New South Wales: Four slots
- Football Queensland: Four slots
- Football South Australia: Two slots
- Football Northern New South Wales: Two slots
- Football West: Two slots
- Football Tasmania: One slot
- Football Northern Territory: One slot
- Capital Football: One slot
GOLDEN BOOT: Historic season for young Aussies threatens 14-year A-Leagues record & unmatched 2014 feat
Golden Boot
This season could see one of four young Australians claim a slice of history as a Golden Boot race led by Under-23 talent goes down to the wire.
The current Golden Boot leaderboard features four young Aussies competing for top-scoring honours in 2024-25:
1st: Noah Botic, Western United: 11 goals, 23 years old
=2nd: Archie Goodwin, Adelaide United: 10 goals, 20 years old
=2nd: Nicolas Milanovic, Western Sydney Wanderers: 10 goals, 23 years old
=4th: Adrian Segecic, Sydney FC: 9 goals, 20 years old.
=4th: Hiroshi Ibusuki, Western United: 9 goals, 34 years old
=4th: Joe Lolley, Sydney FC: 9 goals, 32 years old
Noah Botic leads a stacked field of Golden Boot contenders but beyond the six players within two goals of the top of the leaderboard, there are three players on eight goals apiece and 10 players with seven goals to their name.
Should one of Botic, Archie Goodwin, Nicolas Milanovic or Adrian Segecic win the Golden Boot outright, they would become the first Under-23 player since Adam Taggart in 2013-14 to claim an outright Golden Boot victory in Isuzu UTE A-League history.
The Golden Boot has only been shared twice in 19 Isuzu UTE A-League seasons prior to 2024-25: in the very first season (2008-09 – Alex Brosque, Bobby Despotovski, Dean Heffernan and Stewart Petrie) and in 2016-17 (Besart Berisha and Jamie Maclaren).
GOLDEN BOOT RACE EXPLAINED: Historic season for young Aussies threatens 14-year A-Leagues record & unmatched 2014 feat
Beneath the top-six scorers on nine or more goals this season, there’s a logjam of players looking to make a late surge for the scoring title.
Kosta Barbarouses, Patryk Klimala and Guillermo May have all have eight goals, while the 10 players locked on seven apiece are Eli Adams, Zach Clough, Bozhidar Kraev, Stefan Mauk, Neyder Moreno, Logan Rogerson, Lachie Rose, Zac Sapsford, Adam Taggart and Valere Germain, who departed Macarthur in mid-season.
