Both sets of squads will have Matildas returning from the back-to-back friendlies against Chile and it is likely Elise Kellond-Knight will play at left-back to replace the suspended Chelsea Blissett.

City lost to Canberra United in Round 1 but are now coming off a 3-1 win over Sydney FC last week as Jasmyne Spencer scored a hat-trick at AAMI Park.

Victory have struggled since City’s induction into the league, but the navy blue of Melbourne find themselves above their counterparts before this derby.

Dobson said she was wary of the threats Christine Nairn and Natasha Dowie produce.

“Victory have been building over the last few years, they’ve kept a decent core and have picked up a couple of players again,” the 26-year-old added.

“The fact that Christine is back is a major player for their midfield. Their foreigners are a world of experience and they’ve been in this competition before, particularly Dowie is a very clinical player herself.

"We’ve done our research and they would’ve done the same on us, so it’s just about us implementing our strategy, game plan and making sure we keep our emotions in check.

“They’ve picked up Emily Gielnik as well who’s a Matilda who brings a lot of experience to the squad. They’re a team this year that clubs need to be wary of, they’re very strong on the ball and are quite clinical as well.

“We just need to play our game and the derby is always more of an emotional game more than anything else, so it’ll be who is the most switched on and who plays their best.

“The Sydney win was a major boost for us and it helped that we had almost a full squad which was a completely different line-up to the first week where just had to manage it to the best of our ability.

“We take a lot of confidence into this game, but we take every week as a brand new week and a new game.

"We take nothing for granted, we’ve got the biggest target on our back this season and the fact that we’ve done the threepeat, so every week is a Grand Final and that’s how we’re treating it.”