The 2026-27 A-League Men season is the 22nd since the competition was founded and it starts on 16 October 2026. Twelve clubs take part: ten from Australia plus Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix from New Zealand.
How the season works
Every club plays 26 matches: a full home-and-away schedule of 22 games plus four extra rounds. The top six qualify for the finals. The top two enter at the semi-finals, while the clubs ranked third to sixth start in the elimination finals.
Who is defending what
Newcastle Jets finished 2025-26 as premiers, and Auckland FC won the championship. Both will be heavily owned in fantasy squads, but remember that Auckland have a new head coach.
Six managerial changes
Ufuk Talay takes charge at Western Sydney Wanderers, John Hutchinson returns to Central Coast Mariners, Giovanni Savarese joins Melbourne Victory, Pedro Moreira replaces Steve Corica at Auckland FC and Sasa Ognenovski takes over at Macarthur FC. Chris Greenacre was made permanent Wellington Phoenix head coach after an interim spell.
New managers mean new systems, so give them a few rounds before you load up on their attackers.
What it means for your squad
Check the captains and formations in your Squad Builder, pick a shape that suits the players you can afford and keep an eye on club chemistry: players from the same club earn bonus points in our match simulation.
