Wellington would be naive if they expected an easy A-League Men battle against Macarthur FC, Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano says.
Leaving their 3-0 demolishing of the Bulls behind them, Italiano concedes the southwest Sydney team is a different side to the one they faced last December.
The 'Nix made the most of their away trip by frustrating Macarthur with a deep-sitting defence, allowing Bozhidar Kraev to score the opening goal before a second-half brace from Kosta Barbarouses killed the game.
Three months on, Italiano knows better than to implement the same plan of attack.
The Bulls have since since risen to third on the table with an undefeated streak reaching seven games - equal to Wellington’s.
"We'll make sure we give them the respect ... They’ve evolved," Italiano said on Friday.
"They have probably one of the best squads in the league.
"The last game was different - we played more of a counter-attacking game where we felt they had some weakness.
"We're going to try something a little bit different this time just to curb what we think their weaknesses are at the moment.
"It’ll be a match where it won't be decided early. There'll be a bit of a grind from both teams."
The key for Wellington will be opening the scoring before Macarthur do.
The Bulls have netted the first goal of a game more than any other team this season, picking up seven wins and three draws from 11 games.
Mile Sterjovski's side have also won four games against teams currently in the top half of the ladder, while the Phoenix have won only two of their seven such fixtures.
"It's the fun part of football for me - going in every week and re-analysing the opponent," Italiano said.
"Last week against Victory, (Macarthur) defended very well.
"The fun part is arguing in the office about what the best option is ... we'll just see how it goes."
