The 18th season of the A-League Men gets underway this weekend, with derbies and grudge matches galore.
The 2022-23 season kicks off with a repeat of last year's grand final between Western United and Melbourne City kicking things off at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday night.
With a Big Blue between Sydney and Melbourne Victory and an F3 derby also inked in for round one, the A-League Men's season starts with a bang.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2022-23 A-League Men's season.
Who are defending premiers?
Melbourne City claimed back-to-back premierships last season, edging cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory by a single point.
It was a Melbourne 1-2-3 with Western United claiming third spot on the ladder.
Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Phoenix finished in the top six.
Perth Glory finished a distant bottom of the ladder, eight points behind 11th-placed Brisbane Roar.
Who won the grand final?
Western United beat the premiers Melbourne City 2-0 in the grand final in front of 22,495 fans at AAMI Park.
A second-minute own goal from Nuno Reis got United on the board, and victory was confirmed with Aleksandar Prijović's strike on the half hour mark.
It was Western United's first championship in their third season in the league.
What's happening with the FIFA World Cup?
As with most major leagues around the world, the A-League Men will have a mid-season break to account for the November-December World Cup in Qatar.
The A-League Men will suspend operations from November 18 to December 8.
Meanwhile, the World Cup starts on November 21 and the final will take place on December 18.
Five A-League players to watch
Last year's golden boot winner Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City), who scored 15 times for the premiers, will hope to continue his goalscoring form this campaign.
Flamboyant Italian midfielder Alessandro Diamanti (Western United) is impossible to ignore, even if you wanted to, and will doubtless continue to be a fan favourite for the reigning champions.
Scotland-born, Socceroos capped and Soccer twitter-revered Jason Cummings (Central Coast Mariners) scored 10 goals last season to rocket himself into World Cup contention, but you might want to catch his 18-year-old teammate, Garang Kuol, while you still can before his January move to Newcastle United.
Ex-Manchester United and Portugal star Nani (Melbourne Victory) is arguably the highest-profile signing to appear in the A-League for a while.
Charlie Austin (Brisbane Roar) comes to the A-League with much fanfare and will look to bring some star quality to a Roar side with work to do on and off the pitch.
Dwight Yorke begins his managerial career
In case you missed it, former Aston Villa, Manchester United and Trinidad and Tobago striker has taken charge of the A-League's newest team, Macarthur FC, for their third A-League Men's campaign.
It's a spell that's worked out very so far, with Macarthur winning last week's Australia Cup title by playing a sparkling attacking style of football led by impressive performances by Daniel Arzani, Al Hassan Toure and inspirational skipper Ulises Dávila.
The caveat is that Macarthur only beat one A-League Men's team to reach the final (Wellington Phoenix) and had two matches against teams outside the NPL in Mackay and Whitsundays Magpies Crusaders United and Modbury Jets.
Their final against Sydney United 58 was overshadowed by evidence of racism that has led to one fan being banned from Football Australia events for life.
A bigger test of where Macarthur are at will be against Brisbane Roar at Lang Park in week one.
How can I watch the A-League?
Full coverage is available on Paramount Plus, with regular matches shown on Channel 10 or its subsidiary channels.
Paramount provoked the ire of football fans though, by saying supporters would not be able to pause or rewind coverage of matches shown on the streaming service in the same way other services do.
What are the round one fixtures?
Friday October 7:
Melbourne City vs Western United
Saturday October 8:
Brisbane Roar vs Macarthur
Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory
Sunday October 9:
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Perth Glory
Wellington Phoenix vs Adelaide United
