Matchweek 1 preview: Western United v Adelaide United

Italian ace Alessandro Diamanti and Western United were one of the major stories of last season and the second-year club raise the curtain on the A-League 2020/21 campaign with a clash against Adelaide United in Geelong.

Flamboyant playmaker Diamanti lit up the competition as Mark Rudan’s Green and Black marked their debut campaign with a trip to the Finals Series and a knockout win against Brisbane Roar before falling at the penultimate hurdle, in the Semi-Final, against Melbourne City.

The team from Melbourne’s west have retained the majority of the players that led them to great highs, adding ex-Melbourne City flyer Lachie Wales and Barcelona old boy Victor Sanchez, and they first come up against a Reds outfit aiming to re-establish themselves under newly-appointed permanent head coach Carl Veart.

Adelaide marginally missed out on finals football last season, finishing seventh, as the electric Toure brothers, Al Hassan and Mohamed, turned heads with their dazzling skills. Socceroos frontman Tomi Juric will be key in firing the men from the City of Churches back into contention in 2020/21.

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