Canberra United defender Ellie Brush says the defending W-League champions can hold down the fort and secure a valuable three points without their trio of Matildas stars.
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An under-strength United side will be aiming to end its torrid run of four straight games away from Canberra on a high when it faces the improving Western Sydney Wanderers at Central Coast Stadium on Sunday.
United's depth will be tested as they attempt to move to second on the table, with goalkeeper Lydia Williams and strikers Michelle Heyman and Caitlin Munoz on national team duty in South Korea.
Brush could have been with the Matildas squad as well, but was unlucky to be overlooked with a maximum of three players selected from each W-League club, apart from Melbourne City, which has the bye.
It's the second time this season United have been without their Matildas contingent, easing to a comfortable 3-0 win against Sydney FC in round two.
But with the Wanderers not having any players picked in the Matildas squad, Brush is well aware they cannot afford to take their opponents lightly.
"Definitely the Matildas girls will be hard to replace but, in saying that, the younger girls that have taken their places have done really well," Brush said.
"The rest of the older girls will have to cover them a little more. There's not really too much disruption in the back line, so we'll be feeding off the last two games of clean sheets."
United have had the same back four of Brush, Nicole Begg, Emma Checker and Jenna McCormick for the past two games.
Melissa Maizels will fill the big boots of Williams between the posts, while Nickoletta Flannery and Julia De Angelis could move into the starting line-up.
Catherine Brown, Meg McLaughlin, Grace Gill and reserve goal-keeper Georgia Boric come into the 16-player squad.
Brush was in camp with the Matildas at the AIS before the squad was selected for the South Korea and was unlucky to miss out.
"I was pretty disappointed," Brush said. "Obviously Michelle and Lydia are going to go, and it's really awesome to see Caitlin go along, too. We're in different positions so it's a bit of a team make-up thing, so I'll keep working hard and make sure my performances on the field do the talking."
United will be looking forward to returning to Canberra for three consecutive home games against the Brisbane Roar, Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory.
"It's been pretty tough being on the road for these past four weeks," Brush said. "We've had some really good patches and some lapses of concentration as well that have let us down.
"If we can win tomorrow we will be in outright second, which will be perfect for us because we will back ourselves at home the next few weeks."
The match will be shown live on ABC TV and Fox Sports and will be played before the Central Coast Mariners v Wanderers A-League game.
SUNDAY: W-League: Western Sydney Wanderers v Canberra United at Central Coast Stadium, 2pm. TV: Live on ABC 1 and Fox Sports 505.
Canberra United squad: 2. Catherine Brown, 3. Julia De Angelis, 4. Kendall Fletcher, 5. Jenna McCormick, 7. Ellie Brush, 8. Meg McLaughlin, 9. Grace Gill, 13. Nicole Begg (c), 14. Ashleigh Sykes, 15. Emma Checker, 16. Tegan Riding, 17. Veronica Perez, 18. Rebecca Kiting, 19. Nickoletta Flannery, 20. Melissa Maizels (gk), 22. Georgia Boric (gk)
Western Sydney Wanderers squad: 1. Teagan Micah (gk), 3. Carmelina Moscato, 4. Chloe O'Brien, 6. Rachael Soutar, 7. Helen Petinos, 8. Erica Halloway, 9. Elizabeth Grey, 10. Michelle Carney, 11. Keelin Winters (c), 12. Hannah Beard, 14. Demi Koulizakis, 15. Ellie Carpenter, 16. Linda O'Neill, 17. Alix Roberts, 20. Jada Whyman (gk)
