League leaders Wellington Phoenix are expecting a season-best crowd for their most significant A-League Men clash in years as Melbourne Victory come to town.
Friday night's top-two ALM face-off has all the makings of a classic.
With eight goals in his last five matches, striker Kosta Barbarouses is in scorching form for his hometown club as he comes up against his former employers.
The league's surprise package under rookie coach Giancarlo Italiano, Wellington will be eager to test themselves against heavyweights Victory and their experienced boss Tony Popovic.
Sky Stadium will be packed out as the Phoenix continue their chase for a first piece of A-Leagues silverware, but Italiano was playing down expectations despite his side leading the way at the season's halfway stage.
"I'm not really buying into the hype," he said.
"The value of this game is the same as every other game; it's just worth three points.
"If I go in there with the emphasis that this is the be all and end all, it takes away from the remainder of the season."
Italiano could at least get excited about a bumper crowd, saying the packed stands could prove the difference - as it did in their last home game, a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in which both goals came in injury time.
"The crowd kept us in, there was a belief that we could beat Wanderers in that game and when we scored that goal in the 90th, the place was rocking," he said.
For Friday night's clash, Italiano wants his side to show their progress since their last meeting with Victory.
The teams shared a 1-1 draw at AAMI Park in November, with Wellington - unable to register a single shot - fortunate to draw through an own goal.
The in-form Barbarouses has kept them at the summit since then with goals galore, including the winner in last weekend's 4-3 roller-coaster win over Perth Glory.
The Kiwi international is in talks to stay at the club beyond his contract's expiry at season's end, with Italiano hopeful of warding off interest from the Auckland expansion side.
"If they want to pay through the nose for him, so be it," he said.
"I want to keep Kosta because he wants to be here. It's a no-brainer.
"He's playing his best football here. He feels very comfortable here. He has his family here ... but in saying that, there are many suitors overseas looking for good strikers."
The same applies to Oskar Zawada, currently injured, who is out of contract in the winter and expected to leave.
"He's probably wanting to move overseas and get an opportunity to play ... in a league that properly tests him," Italiano said.
"Good strikers are always in demand."
