Coach Natalie Lawrence is looking forward to welcoming back midfielder Grace Wisnewski from injury when her Wellington Phoenix side take on high-flying Adelaide United in the A-League Women.
Bottom-of-the-table Phoenix will need all the help they can get, having lost their first four games this season.
Their plight is compounded by the loss of young gun Alyssa Whinham for personal reasons.
"Alyssa will be a big loss," Lawrence told media ahead of Saturday's match at Sky Stadium.
"She causes a lot of teams problems."
Luckily for the Nix, they have a ready-made replacement in the heart of the midfield in New Zealand under-20 international Wisnewski.
"We know she can get up and down the field and complement Betsy (Hasett)," the coach said.
"We're really pleased to get Wis (Wisnewski) back for sure."
Lawrence was full of praise for her side's opponents, who sit in third place after three wins.
"Adelaide are looking really good," she said.
"They had a great season last year and they've kept a lot of their team.
"It will be a really tough game but we've prepared well for them."
For her part, Wisnewski is delighted to finally get some game time after a frustrating start to the season watching her team falter from the sidelines.
"I've been itching to get back on," she confided.
"It's been really hard watching.
"We've had parts in games that we've played really well and just little mistakes have let us down."
The Junior Fern will be hoping for a breakout season to imprint her name in the minds of national team selectors ahead of New Zealand's home World Cup next year.
Watching the atmosphere around the Men's World Cup in Qatar has left her hungry to take part herself.
"You see all the fans, it's incredible and to know that's going to be here next year is amazing," she said.
"I'd love to bring it to New Zealand."
