A refreshed Adelaide United have resisted rushing back key players as they plot to unlock Brisbane Roar's unusual A-League tactics..
Defender Jordan Elsey (knee), striker George Blackwood (glute) and midfielder Mirko Boland (hamstring) all trained this week to push their selection cases for Sunday's fixture in Adelaide.
But Reds captain Michael Jakobsen says the trio will miss the Roar game as club hierarchy take a cautious approach.
"They're on the way, it's a question of not rushing them in so they are 100 per cent fit when they come back and they don't get any new injuries," he said.
United will also be missing Louis D'Arrigo (Australia under 20 duties) for a clash against the winless Roar.
While Brisbane have scored just one goal in their two draws and a loss to start their season, Jakobsen said the visitors' style of play would present some problems for Adelaide.
"The tactical aspect is important," he said.
"Brisbane is playing a quite different game, so we have to adjust to that and figure out where we can hurt them.
"They are quite low when they are defending and then they attack a lot with the fullbacks ... we had to figure out how to open them up.
"They have only scored one (goal) but they are not letting in a lot of goals either, (two).
"There are different things you need to look at but of course you get inspiration from what other teams have done.
"And hopefully we can do it better because it is a hard team to play against, that is how it looks."
Adelaide enter Sunday's fixture after a bye weekend which Jakobsen said had been welcomed, given the Reds' league campaign had been interwoven with their FFA Cup triumph.
"The break was OK because we were in a very tough period and people, they were tired," he said.
STATS THAT MATTER
* Adelaide are on a three-game winning streak against Brisbane
* The Roar boast a league-best passing accuracy of 84 per cent
* Riley McGree has scored Adelaide's past three league goals