High-flying Wellington are prepared for Sydney FC's talons as their old boss Ufuk Talay aims to knock them off their A-League Men perch.
Crossing the Tasman for their first reunion with Talay since his departure earlier this year, the Phoenix are bent on emerging victorious at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
Talay may have guided the New Zealand-based club to third - their best-ever league finish - but they have soared to new heights under his former assistant Giancarlo Italiano.
"They're all very hungry to prove a lot of people wrong," first-year head coach Italiano said.
"It's just a matter of now building that mentality to be consistent in every game.
"I always tell the group that the most important moment is the next 45 minutes and that's it."
The ALM leaders enjoy a three-point buffer over Melbourne Victory, having won six games, drawn two, and lost just one in the opening nine rounds.
Should Wellington pull off their smash-and-grab mission in Sydney, Italiano will become the first coach in the competition's history to win seven of their first 10 games.
The 'Nix boss concedes the intrigue around the blockbuster reunion can be enticing, but played down the rivalry.
"It's not me versus 'Uffie', like we're not the ones running out there on the pitch," Italiano said on Wednesday.
"It's more about his team against my team.
"We're both competitive. We're not going to go into the game wanting to lose the game so it's getting one over him.
"I like to win every game, he likes to win every game so that pretty much settles that."
Wellington's last meeting with the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium ended in chaos.
Down two players and having conceded two penalties, the Phoenix walked away with all three points thanks to a 10th-minute goal from Polish striker Oskar Zawada.
Zawada (thigh) will be missing from Italiano's best 11 on Friday with Kosta Barbarouses, Ben Old and Bozhidar Kraev leading the charge.
And while the trio will keep the hosts' defence on their toes, formidable goalkeeper Alex Paulsen is expected to be an almighty roadblock for Talay's attack.
The architect of Wellington's four clean sheets, Paulsen has saved more than 80 per cent of opposition attempts.
But regardless of who gets across the line, Italiano expects to be catching up with his good friend over a beer - just not immediately after the final whistle.
"One of us will be upset so it's probably best - one day of recovery," he said.
