Italiano stokes flame against 'vulnerable' Auckland FC

Auckland FC are yet to concede a goal in their perfect start to A-League Men, but Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano sees "a lot of vulnerabilities" to exploit in their all-New Zealand clash.

The clubs from the other side of the Tasman meet in their second Kiwi derby of the season on Saturday.

Awaiting the Phoenix will be another imposing 26,000-strong Mount Smart Stadium crowd, with the match selling out two days ago.

The bumper support has helped boost the Black Knights to top of the competition, with five wins from five, scoring eight goals and, incredibly, yet to concede.

Wellington have also started strong, with 10 points from a possible 15, though losing a home meeting with the Black Knights in October.

Italiano said the A-League newboys were cashing in on their lucky draw, with three home games and just one trip to Australia.

"When you only travel once, you get a bit of momentum," he said.

"We had to travel. We've won three games away from home ... it's not easy to go away and win games.

"That's probably the hardest part. And the Kiwi teams have probably more of a disadvantage. So in that respect, I think we've done very well."

Italiano said successful away missions to both last season's grand finalists - Central Coast and Melbourne Victory - showed the Nix's true form.

In pointed comments that are only likely to rile Auckland fans, the Sydney-born coach said his analysis showed the Black Knights were "there for the taking".

"They've been very lucky, to be fair, the last four games," he said.

"They're very vulnerable.

"I'm not disrespecting their defensive side. I think they're a very good team, they're well structured, but I think there is a lot of vulnerability there."

Auckland FC have also been able to name an unchanged squad, with no long-term injuries.

The Nix get back key defender Tim Payne, who has been out with a glute issue, but Italiano said Payne, Sam Sutton and star forward Marco Rojas all wouldn't be able to start due to conditioning.

Rojas suffered a broken leg on the eve of the season and has been restricted to two substitute appearances so far.

"He's doing a lot better than what we thought he would ... but I still think he's not at that stage where he's ready to start," Italiano said.

"It will come and hopefully sooner rather than later. But again, when you have a player like that coming off the bench, I feel very reassured that we can change the game very late."