Showtime!

And so it begins.

With just over 24 hours before the kickoff of the A-League, it's proving impossible to track the opening weekend media blitz, the pre-game hype in the fan forums, all of the comments of the sport's critical observers and, inevitably, the injuries to key players. Tomorrow is the biggest day in Australian football since the away game in Uruguay, and the biggest day in the local scene since ... well, it's unprecendented, really.

There's a lot of talk about attendances. Queensland Roar's offer of a new Hyuandai Getz for one lucky winner at every home game seems to have encouraged ticket sales, which have reached 13,000. Chairman Ribot has cleverly used the unexpectedly high pre-sales figure as fodder for additional promotion, earning the Roar high marks for their overall marketing strategies. With the Knights coming to town, expect a fired-up Roar side to push for early goals in order to maximise the returning audience for their next home game. Hickey is out for the New Zealanders, so it's likely they'll stack the midfield and play solo with Devine up front. They just beat the Solomon Islands national team 4-0, but it's hard to say if that result suggests improvement. My prediction: Roar 2 - 1 Knights.

The match at Aussie Stadium between Sydney vs Victory (arch-rivals before they've even played each other) is expected to draw a large audiences, with some predicting as many as 35,000, a near sell out. That would be something. Apparently ticket sales are currently about one-third of that figure, which is still good. On the park, Victory are looking a bit suspect. They're coming off a heavy loss and Mark Byrnes is out due to suspension. Sydney also lost their last competitive match, but only narrowly and without any of their top shelf strikers in the starting lineup. The result: Sydney 3 - 1 Victory.

Newcastle vs Adelaide, the battle of the Uniteds, is probably the least glamorous of the first round matchups. The Jets will be very concered about attendances after shambolic preparations during the pre-season drew them smaller crowds than any other club. Word is things are improving by the minute, and the diehard Adelaide travelling supporters should help a little in terms of numbers and a lot in atmosphere. The Jets have been underperforming on the park, but now that the real season has commenced I think we will see a different side. Only embarrasment and scorn will await another lacklustre show. Injuries will play a hand. Adelaide is without Shengqing Qu, while Milicic is back for the Jets. The score: Jets 2 - 0 Reds.

Perth and Central Coast go at it again after the Mariners eclipsed Glory in the final of the Pre-Season Cup. Of course the crowd should be fine in Perth, where the administration has fewer audience-related headaches than anywhere else in the country. With the return of Despotovski and Harnwell, and the arrival of Brian Deane, Perth will be able to play quite a few cards that remained held up their sleeve last week. Mrdja is out for the Mariners, which due to their depth and hard running style isn't a massive a blow, but in addition to the long travel it does swing things in Perth's favour. Should be a cracker: Glory 1 - 0 Mariners.