Western United need not be fearful of Melbourne City as they aim to halt their shocking run of form against a team who scored eight goals in their last outing, coach John Aloisi insists.
United are stone cold last on the A-League Men table and have won just two games all season.
If Aloisi wanted a straightforward fixture to get his side's season back on track, facing a City outfit that thumped Brisbane 8-1 a week ago might not seem the most obvious choice.
But the United boss says his side's 2-1 win over City in round one is evidence they can match it with the competition's heavyweights.
"We're hoping that we put in the performance that we did in round one," Aloisi said ahead of Sunday's meeting.
"We know it's a different Melbourne City because it's a different coach.
"But we know them, we know AAMI Park and we have performed well there this season.
"We're looking forward to it. If we perform at our best we'll get the result and hopefully that kick starts our season.
"Player for player they've got probably one of the best, if not the best, teams in the league."
Aloisi says his side will be without Japanese import Riku Danzaki for the foreseeable future due to a shoulder injury, with James Donachie, Nikita Rukavytsya, and Sebastian Pasquali also sidelined.
United have scored just seven goals this campaign but Aloisi says he'll continue to back young attacker Noah Botic, whose sole strike so far in 2023/24 came from the penalty spot.
"We've got young players, and as a club we decided to go down that path," Aloisi said.
"The likes of Noah Botic will be better for this, and the other younger players will be better for this, once we get through it.
"But we're hoping this game can really give him that belief again that we can go and beat anyone."
