Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren's troublesome ankle is on the improve as he seeks to rediscover his scoring touch in the A-League Men clash with his former club Brisbane Roar.
All-time leading scorer Maclaren has four goals in nine starts this season - well below his usual scoring rate - and has not found the net in his past three matches.
He was denied a late winner against Melbourne Victory in last week's derby when he was ruled to have fouled Leigh Broxham in the build-up.
Maclaren's scoring dip comes as he deals with a lingering ankle injury, as well as missing out on the Socceroos squad for January's Asian Cup.
But City coach Aurelio Vidmar backed Maclaren to fire again as the five-time golden boot winner edges closer to full fitness ahead of the clash with Brisbane at AAMI Park on Thursday.
"That ankle is always improving and at this stage everything's fine," Vidmar said.
"He's one of the 23-24 (players) that we had here yesterday that trained and trained well.
"Everyone is playing with some sort of discomfort (at this stage of the season) but some manage it better than others, and he's trying to manage it as best he can.
"He's in a much better position with that ankle now than he was a couple of weeks ago."
Unbeaten in six matches, including two draws that sealed their Asian Champions League exit, City will confront a fifth-placed Brisbane outfit still coming to terms with Ross Aloisi's shock exit.
Aloisi quit the Roar on Christmas Eve to link up again with Kevin Muscat at Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port, leaving his former assistant Luciano Trani to take charge as interim coach.
"A big difference would be if the coach was sacked, in that first game there's always going to be a massive bounce, but Ross has left so it's a continuation for Luc," Vidmar said.
"I don't see a drastic change ... it's going to be the same committed Brisbane Roar who are super aggressive and really want to take the game to you.
"That's what we've seen all year and just because there's been a change in the coaching set-up, that won't change because Luc has been part of that set-up right through pre-season and to this point."
Brisbane have been buoyed this week by star midfielder Jay O'Shea signing a two-year contract extension.
The 35-year-old Irishman, who is in the process of becoming an Australian citizen, has made 111 ALM appearances and scored 21 league goals since arriving in 2019.
