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Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says Carlton will come out "breathing fire" after a week under a harsh AFL spotlight.

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks knows what to expect from an under-siege Carlton in Sunday's AFL clash.

"We know they will come out breathing fire at the start of this game," Nicks said.

The Blues and their coach David Teague have endured a week under a harsh spotlight amid an external review of the club's failings.

Carlton sit in 14th spot with queries whether Teague can lead them out of the doldrums - the Blues not having played finals since 2013.

The scrutiny on the Blues makes Nicks' 12th-placed Crows uneasy before the Marvel Stadium fixture.

"As a coach when you're seeing the opposition get put under pressure the way they have this week, and we all have our moments like that, you are are wary of how they come out," Nicks said.

"I know they will respond. They're a very good football side.

"So it's going to be great for our young group to go over to Melbourne again, another challenge when we go to an away venue, and we need to perform right from the outset.

"We haven't been able to do that the last couple of weeks.

"Our last couple of weeks, we have started really slowly.

"Carlton are a very good side if they're allowed to play their style... so we know how important the first five or 10 minutes is going to be for both sides."

Nicks has been able to relieve one headache, with defensive stalwart Luke Brown to return from an achilles injury suffered in round 11.

Brown's defensive nous will be deployed on Carlton goalsneak and former Crows favourite Eddie Betts - their pair often pitted against each other at training when Betts was in Adelaide.

"We are a very inexperienced group down back ... sometimes we find that we can leak scores at times and we can make errors and that is part of the learning process," Nicks said.

"Browny adds that element of experience back there. He is that balanced head that in times when we need him, he can step up.

"He also plays that important role on the really dangerous small forward for the opposition so when you're talking about Carlton, you're talking about the Eddie Betts style of player.

"To have an experienced player also doing a really important role is someone that we value highly."