Article content

As an established club, FC Edmonton may have a leg up on some other franchises in the Canadian Premier League heading into their season opener Saturday (4 p.m.) against Valour FC in Winnipeg.

However, having yet to kick a ball in the new professional soccer league, there is still an unknown element heading into the contest.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Chemistry a key for FC Edmonton heading into Canadian Premier League opener Back to video

With every other team essentially starting from scratch, it is difficult to find a frame of reference for FC Edmonton in regards to what their opponents are fielding.

“We’re 24 new players, but there are a lot here that have known each other from before, from the academy, and others that have played here in Edmonton,” said FC Edmonton midfielder Ramon Soria Alonso. “But it’s not easy. It’s not easy when you have eight weeks to train and you have to put together a brand new team.

“I think all the teams have the same problem. All the teams are new. Hopefully, we have a good mix of young players and veterans and other foreign players who have a lot of international experience. That is going to help and we also have a lot of players here that have experience playing in North America.”