It will be the sixth time Australia has faced France with the most recent encounter being four years ago at the Cyprus Cup.

France came away 3-2 win that day but it wasn't without a fight back from the Matildas who were down 3-0 at halftime. Sam Kerr and Emily van Egmond both played in that match but are unavailable for the match this time round.

The Matildas head into the match without Lydia Williams, Alanna Kennedy (injury), Hayley Raso (injury), Kerr or van Egmond but coach Alan Stajcic says that the approach to the match will still be the same.

"Our approach will be to take the game to France and show off our playing style, principles and philosophy," he told FFA TV.

"Try to dominate possession of the game, dominate territory and chances," he said.

Both matches are also set to count towards the FIFA World Rankings which will be used for the World Cup seeding on December 8th. While it is important to have a good seeding, Stajcic believes no matter what it will be tough.

"At the end of the day when we get to the World Cup it doesn't matter which group you are in, every game is going to be tough," he said.

KEY PLAYERS

Clare Polkinghorne (Defender)

With defending partner Kennedy out of action, Polkinghorne's role has become one of the most important on the field in this match. 

The 29-year-old will be leading the defence against a ruthless France who have scored 16 goals in their last four matches so the defenders will need to be on guard throughout the match.

Polkinghorne was part of the last win over France in 2013 as captain of the Matildas so understands what it takes to beat them.

Sarah Bouhaddi (Goalkeeper)

Goalkeepers don't tend to get a lot at as key players but Sarah Bouhaddi deserves her recognition for her recent performances.

France hasn't conceded a goal in four consecutive matches and over the last 19 games they've managed to keep it to just 15 with over half those goals coming from nations like Germany, USA and England. 

In a match with an unpredictable forward combination with Kerr out, Bouhaddi will be kept on her toes with Sydney FC duo Lisa De Vanna and Caitlin Foord likely pairing up. 

WHAT TO EXPECT

The two nations have not played each other in four years and have grown from that match up with Australia even peaking above France in the December 2017 FIFA World Cup rankings. 

France also hasn't had the luxury of playing in qualifiers as host of the 2019 World Cup but had strong competition with the SheBelieves Cup in early March.

The biggest importance for Australia will be holding France and not lapsing with three of the last goals conceded coming after the 79th minute.

The match will be a telling tale of where the Matildas are at against one of the best European teams as they head into a World Cup year but also if they can play without some of their biggest players.

Each game is adding up to that final 23 player squad which will head to France next year so being able to perform not only individually but as a team no matter the circumstances will be very important.

MATCH DETAILS

France v Australia 

Kick-off: Saturday October 6 at 5am AEST 

Live on Fox Sports and SBS

Follow on Twitter using the hashtag #FRAvAUS