To see today's training session...

Bookmakers are confident that Vitezslav Lavicka's side will be in contention but they still believe that Ernie Merrick's men have what it takes to be the competitions's first back to back champions.

But Sydney FC's players are happy for Victory to carry that burden and believe Merrick's men will be right up there once again.  

"I think it's normal (that Victory are favourites) because they won it last year and they've got great players," Aloisi told au.fourfourtwo.com.

"They should be the favourites. Everyone is saying Gold Coast United will be another of the favourites and will be very strong. The only thing is we don't know exactly what to expect from them."  

Aloisi is relaxed about what other teams are doing or how the bookmakers perceive Sydney's chances. He says the pressure to succeed at Moore Park is always there, whatever the odds.  

"It doesn't matter whether we are favourites or not," he said. "When you play for Sydney FC there is always pressure to win. If you don't challenge then people will see it is not a great season.  

"We are just looking to that first game against North Queensland Fury and getting a result."  

On a personal level, Aloisi would love to get off the mark quickly and he is confident that there are goals in this Sydney FC side.  

He added: "I just want to have a good start and try and score goals.

"If the team is playing like we've been playing then we will be creating chances and I'm sure whoever is playing up front will score goals. Hopefully that's me and I'm able to score a lot of goals this year."

To see today's training session...