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Melbourne City coach Erick Mombaerts says he expects a tough A-League game from Wellington who sit last on the ladder after three-straight losses.
Melbourne City won't underestimate early A-League cellar dwellars Wellington when they face off on Sunday at AAMI Park.
City are sitting pretty in second place with two wins and a draw, while the Phoenix have no points from their three games.
"It's the beginning of the season so we don't know exactly what is the level of all teams," City coach Erick Mombaerts said.
"They have zero points but they did enough well - they lost the game (against Perth) but it's not too big a difference.
"What we expect - it's a tough game so we need to play well; we need to play intense; we need to try to break through this team."
Mombaerts said there was plenty of room for improvement in his side in both retaining possession and in transition.
Wellington coach Ufuk Talay said his team still had strong belief but just needed to start converting their chances to turn the tide.
"I think we're not too far away. There'll be maybe a couple of changes this weekend," he said.
"Results haven't gone our way but the football has been good.
"And I think we're just a win away of continuing and I think (that) will have a snowball effect once we get those three points."
City will be without Jamie Maclaren and Richard Windbichler, who both have hamstring injuries, along with the suspended Harrison Delbridge.
Youngsters Moudi Najjar and Lachlan Wales are likely to earn opportunities to fill the void up top, while City might also turn to Adrian Luna as a false nine.
STATS THAT MATTER:
* Wellington have won three of their past four games against City, including their past two on the bounce, but City have won their past six against the Phoenix at AAMI Park
* City are undefeated in their past 13 A-League games at AAMI Park, winning eight and drawing five and keeping six clean sheets
* Wellington have opened the 2019/20 season with three-consecutive losses. A fourth-straight defeat would equal their worst start to a season, when they lost their first four games in 2016/17.
Stats provided by Opta
