2013 finish: Hume City came bursting out of the blocks in the 2013 Victorian Premier League, but stumbled in the latter half of the season to finish ninth and miss out on finals. The club has been very busy in the off-season however, completing a $12 million redelevopment of its Broadmeadows facility and making massive changes to its playing squad.

NPL 2014 squad: Chris Oldfield (GK), Evan Alexandrow-Ridley (GK), Izzy Erdogan (vice captain), Shane Rexhepi, Baki Efe, Matthew Hennessey, Petar Franjic, Johnny Stojcevski, Jose Guerrero, Nick Hegarty (captain), Kliment Taseski, Devon Bonne, Kaan Korkmaz, Aaron Turner , Joseph Franjic, Ali Turgut, Johhny Buceto, Nick Marinos, Samed Altundag, Richie Cardozo

Key signings: Shane Rexhepi (Dandenong Thunder), Petar Franjic (Richmond), Kliment Taseski (Richmond), Ali Turgut (Southern Stars), Richie Cardozo (Waitakere United, New Zealand), Evan Alexandrow-Ridley (Canberra NTC), Nick Marinos (Heidelberg United), Samed Altundag (Brisbane Roar youth), Joseph Franjic (Sunshine George Cross), Aaron Turner (Para Hills Knights, NPL South Australia)

Key departures: Alan Mulcahy (Dandenong Thunder), Steven Pace (Heidelberg United), Ersin Kaya (Northcote City), Naum Sekulovski (Goulburn Valley Suns), Shaun Romein (Ballarat Red Devils)

The gaffer: 36-year-old Louie Acevski enters his third season in charge of Hume City as one of the NPL’s youngest coaches. He has a young squad full of potential after making significant changes to last year’s squad, and his side’s 3-1 pre-season win over Northcote City has the club feeling bullish about its prospects this season.

One to watch: 16-year-old Samed Altundag has arrived at Hume City from Brisbane Roar’s youth team and has the club excited on the eve of Round 1. Despite his tender age, Hume City is confident Altundag will have a big part to play this season.

Pictured: Nick Hegarty will again captain Hume City this season (image credit: Anita Milas)