2020–21 A-League

The 2020–21 A-League is the 44th season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 16th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season was started on 28 December 2020 and scheduled to conclude no later than 30 June 2021.[1] The start of the season is later than previous seasons as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand, as well as part of a gradual shift to move the competition from summer to winter.[2] Wellington Phoenix play their home matches on Australian soil due to travel restrictions.[3]

A-League
Season2020–21
Dates28 December 2020 – 30 June 2021
Matches played35
Goals scored103 (2.94 per match)
Top goalscorerAlou Kuol
Dylan Wenzel-Halls
(5 goals each)
Biggest home winBrisbane Roar 5–2 Melbourne Victory
(6 February 2021)
Biggest away winMacarthur FC 0–3 Sydney FC
(30 January 2021)
Highest scoringWestern United 5–4 Perth Glory
(23 January 2021)
Longest winning run4 matches
Brisbane Roar
Central Coast Mariners
Longest unbeaten run5 matches
Western Sydney Wanderers
Longest winless run5 matches
Newcastle Jets
Longest losing run4 matches
Newcastle Jets
All statistics correct as of 9 February 2021.

Sydney FC are the defending champions and premiers.

Clubs

There are 12 clubs participating in this season. Macarthur FC makes their A-League debut this season.[4]

Club City Home Ground Capacity
Adelaide United Adelaide Coopers Stadium 16,500
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Moreton Daily Stadium 11,500
Central Coast Mariners Gosford Central Coast Stadium 20,059
Macarthur FC Sydney Campbelltown Stadium 20,000
Melbourne City Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Marvel Stadium
AAMI Park		 56,347
30,050
Newcastle Jets Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium 33,000
Perth Glory Perth HBF Park 20,500
Sydney FC Sydney
Sydney
Sydney
Wollongong		 Stadium Australia
Netstrata Jubilee Oval
Leichhardt Oval
WIN Stadium		 83,500
20,500
20,000
23,000
Wellington Phoenix Wollongong WIN Stadium 23,000
Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney Bankwest Stadium 30,000
Western United Geelong
Melbourne
Ballarat		 GMHBA Stadium
AAMI Park
Mars Stadium		 36,000
30,050
11,000

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsor
Adelaide United Carl Veart Stefan Mauk UCAN[5] Flinders University[6]
Australian Outdoor Living[A][7]
Brisbane Roar Warren Moon Tom Aldred Umbro[8][9] Actron Air[10]
Central Coast Mariners Alen Stajcic Oliver Bozanic Umbro[11][12] Masterfoods[13]
MATE[A][14]
Macarthur FC Ante Milicic Mark Milligan Macron[15] Wisdom Homes[16]
Melbourne City Patrick Kisnorbo Scott Jamieson Puma[17] Etihad Airways[18]
Melbourne Victory Grant Brebner Leigh Broxham Adidas[19] Metricon[20]
Newcastle Jets Craig Deans (interim) Nigel Boogaard Apelle[21] Inspirations Paint[22]
Perth Glory Richard Garcia Diego Castro Macron[23] BHP[24]
Sydney FC Steve Corica Alex Wilkinson Under Armour[25] The Star[26]
Wellington Phoenix Ufuk Talay Ulises Dávila Paladin Sports[27] KPMG[28]
Western Sydney Wanderers Carl Robinson Dylan McGowan Kappa[29] Voltaren[30]
JD Sports[A][31]
Western United Mark Rudan Alessandro Diamanti Kappa[32] Simonds Homes[33]
Tasman Logistics[A][34]
  • ^
    Away kit.

    • Managerial changes
    Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position on table Incoming manager Date of appointment
    Macarthur FC Inaugural manager Pre-season Ante Milicic[35] 15 May 2019
    Melbourne Victory Grant Brebner (caretaker) Promoted to full time 24 August 2020 Grant Brebner[36] 24 August 2020
    Perth Glory Tony Popovic Signed by Xanthi[37] 27 August 2020 Hayden Foxe (caretaker)[38] 2 September 2020
    Melbourne City Erick Mombaerts Resigned 3 September 2020 Patrick Kisnorbo[39] 3 September 2020
    Adelaide United Carl Veart (caretaker) Promoted to full time 18 September 2020 Carl Veart[40] 18 September 2020
    Perth Glory Hayden Foxe (caretaker) End of contract 18 September 2020 Richard Garcia[41] 18 September 2020
    Western Sydney Wanderers Jean-Paul de Marigny Sacked[42] 12 October 2020 Carl Robinson[43] 15 October 2020
    Newcastle Jets Carl Robinson Signed by Western Sydney Wanderers[44] 15 October 2020 Craig Deans (interim)[45] 16 October 2020

    Foreign players
    Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Visa 5 Non-visa foreigner(s) Former player(s)
    Adelaide United Michael Jakobsen Javi López
    Brisbane Roar Macaulay Gillesphey Jay O'Shea Riku Danzaki Masato Kudo Tom Aldred Jamie Young2
    Jai Ingham2
    Central Coast Mariners Marco Ureña Michał Janota Stefan Janković Gianni Stensness2
    Macarthur FC Matt Derbyshire Loïc Puyo Beñat Markel Susaeta Antonis Martis2
    Melbourne City Craig Noone Florin Berenguer Naoki Tsubaki Nuno Reis Adrián Luna
    Melbourne Victory Rudy Gestede Jacob Butterfield Callum McManaman Ryan Shotton Marco Rojas Elvis Kamsoba2
    Adama Traoré1
    Max Crocombe2
    Storm Roux2
    Newcastle Jets Syahrian Abimanyu Liridon Krasniqi Ali Abbas1
    Roy O'Donovan1
    Perth Glory Darryl Lachman Sebastian Langkamp Kosuke Ota Diego Castro Bruno Fornaroli Andy Keogh1
    Dane Ingham2
    Sydney FC Bobô Alexander Baumjohann Kosta Barbarouses Miloš Ninković
    Wellington Phoenix David Ball Tomer Hemed Ulises Dávila
    Western Sydney Wanderers Jordon Mutch Nicolai Müller Simon Cox Graham Dorrans Ziggy Gordon Patrick Ziegler1
    Daniel Georgievski2
    Western United Alessandro Diamanti Tomoki Imai Filip Kurto Iker Guarrotxena Víctor Sánchez Besart Berisha1
    Andrew Durante2

    The following do not fill a Visa position:
    1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (or New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);[46]
    2Australian citizens (or New Zealand citizens, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
    3Injury replacement players, or National team replacement players;
    4Guest players (eligible to play a maximum of fourteen games)

    Salary cap exemptions and captains
    Club First Designated Second Designated Captain Vice-Captain
    Adelaide United None None Stefan Mauk[47] None
    Brisbane Roar None None Tom Aldred[48] None
    Central Coast Mariners Daniel De Silva[49][50] None Oliver Bozanic[51] None
    Macarthur FC Mark Milligan[52] None Mark Milligan[53] None
    Melbourne City Jamie Maclaren[54] None Scott Jamieson[55] None
    Melbourne Victory Robbie Kruse[56] None Leigh Broxham[57] None
    Newcastle Jets None None Nigel Boogaard[58][59] Nikolai Topor-Stanley[60]
    Perth Glory Diego Castro[61][62] Bruno Fornaroli[63] Diego Castro[64] Neil Kilkenny[65]
    Sydney FC None None Alex Wilkinson[66] None
    Wellington Phoenix Tomer Hemed[67] None Ulises Dávila[68] Alex Rufer[68]
    Western Sydney Wanderers None None Dylan McGowan[69] None
    Western United Alessandro Diamanti[70] None Alessandro Diamanti[70][71] Tomislav Uskok[71]

    Transfers
    Further information: A-League transfers for 2020–21 season

    Regular season

    League table
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
    1 Central Coast Mariners 7 5 0 2 12 7 +5 15 Qualification to Finals Series, 2021 FFA Cup round of 32, and 2022 AFC Champions League group stage[lower-alpha 1]
    2 Brisbane Roar 6 4 0 2 13 8 +5 12 Qualification to Finals Series and 2021 FFA Cup round of 32[lower-alpha 1]
    3 Macarthur 7 3 2 2 8 9 −1 11
    4 Sydney FC 5 3 1 1 8 5 +3 10
    5 Perth Glory 5 3 0 2 15 12 +3 9
    6 Western Sydney Wanderers 6 2 3 1 7 6 +1 9
    7 Adelaide United 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7 Qualification to 2021 FFA Cup round of 32[lower-alpha 2]
    8 Newcastle Jets 7 2 1 4 7 9 −2 7
    9 Melbourne City 6 2 0 4 6 10 −4 6
    10 Western United 5 1 2 2 8 9 −1 5
    11 Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 3] 5 1 1 3 6 8 −2 4
    12 Melbourne Victory 5 1 1 3 5 10 −5 4
    Updated to match(es) played on 9 February 2021. Source: A-League
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
    Notes:
    1. The top two teams enter the Finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the Finals series at the elimination-finals.
    2. The top 8 teams qualify for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participate in a playoff round.[72]
    3. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

    Fixtures and results
    Home \ Away ADE BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW WUN ADE BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW WUN
    Adelaide United 13 Mar 19 Feb 5 Mar 2–0 1–0 14 Apr 1–2 28 Mar 12 Feb 2 Apr 24 Feb 5 May 30 Apr
    Brisbane Roar 3–1 15 Jan 0–2 0–1 5–2 14 Feb 10 Mar 10 Jan 29 Dec 16 May 11 Apr 25 Apr 6 Mar
    Central Coast Mariners 17 Mar 8 May 11 Apr 3–2 10 Jan 1–0 30 May 18 Apr 1–2 0–1 3–2 8 Mar 27 Mar
    Macarthur FC 12 Feb 15 Feb 0–2 13 Jan 7 Apr 18 Apr 1 May 0–3 1–1 2–2 29 May 22 Feb 9 May
    Melbourne City 10 Apr 30 May 3 Feb 12 Mar 17 Apr 8 Jan 1–3 14 May 28 Feb 8 Feb 2–1 22 Mar 21 Feb
    Melbourne Victory 27 Feb 1–3 4 Apr 16 May 6 Mar 21 Feb 2–1 26 Jan 17 Feb 25 Apr 13 Mar 28 May 9 May
    Newcastle Jets 21 Mar 1–2 14 Feb 1–2 1–0 21 Apr 1 Feb 29 May 9 Apr 1–2 10 Feb 1 Mar 29 Mar
    Perth Glory 5–3 20 Jan 13 Mar 6 Feb 20 Feb 13 Feb 24 Apr 24 Mar 16 May 23 May 5 May 9 May 27 Feb
    Sydney FC 5 Feb 20 Feb 0–2 24 Apr 30 Dec 20 Mar 14 Mar 20 Feb 2–1 1–1 10 May 22 May 10 Apr
    Wellington Phoenix 25 Apr 21 Mar 14 Feb 28 Mar 22 Jan 6 Feb 24 May 27 Jan 1–2 21 Feb 3 Mar 7 Mar 17 Apr
    Western Sydney Wanderers 9 Jan 24 Feb 27 Feb 0–1 13 Feb 30 Jan 1–1 24 Jan 13 Feb 15 Mar 1 Jan 16 Apr 31 May
    Western United 0–0 22 May 23 Apr 20 Feb 13 Feb 0–0 24 Jan 5–4 13 Feb 12 Jan 7 Mar 1 Apr 2 May
    Updated to match(es) played on 9 February 2021. Source: A-League
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
    For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

    Positions by round
    Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324
    Central Coast Mariners111411
    Brisbane Roar1034352
    Western Sydney Wanderers10106133
    Sydney FC645684
    Adelaide United422725
    Macarthur FC153246
    Perth Glory6810897
    Melbourne City157568
    Western United4781079
    Wellington Phoenix69991210
    Melbourne Victory61211111011
    Newcastle Jets101011121112
    Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League group stage,
    Finals series, FFA Cup round of 32
    Qualification to Finals series, FFA Cup round of 32
    Qualification to FFA Cup round of 32
    Updated to match(es) played on 3 February 2021. Source: ultimatealeague.com

    Finals series
    Elimination-finals   Semi-finals   Grand Final
                       
          1st placed  
    3rd placed     Lowest ranked elimination-final winner  
    6th placed       Highest ranked semi-final winner
        Lowest ranked semi-final winner
          2nd placed
    4th placed     Highest ranked elimination-final winner  
    5th placed  

    Elimination-finals
    TBC 3rd placed – 6th placed TBD
    TBC Stadium: TBD
    TBC 4th placed – 5th placed TBD
    TBC Stadium: TBD

    Semi-finals
    TBC 1st placed – Lowest ranked elimination-final winner TBD
    TBC Stadium: TBD
    TBC 2nd placed – Highest ranked elimination-final winner TBD
    TBC Stadium: TBD

    Grand Final
    TBC Highest ranked semi-final winner – Lowest ranked semi-final winner TBD
    TBC Stadium: TBD

    Statistics

    Top scorers
    As of 9 February 2021[73]
    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Alou Kuol Central Coast Mariners 5
    Dylan Wenzel-Halls Brisbane Roar
    3 Nicholas D'Agostino Perth Glory 4
    Bruno Fornaroli Perth Glory
    Valentino Yuel Newcastle Jets
    6 Carlo Armiento Perth Glory 3
    Kosta Barbarouses Sydney FC
    Jake Brimmer Melbourne Victory
    Riku Danzaki Brisbane Roar
    Ulises Dávila Wellington Phoenix
    Jamie Maclaren Melbourne City
    Scott McDonald Brisbane Roar

    See also

    References
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