TOP three remains a possibility for Ballarat in Football Federation Victoria state league two this year as the Red Devils take on relegation-threatened Cairnlea at Cairnlea Park today.

The Haymes Red Devils face the first of two very winnable matches (next weekend they play bottom-of-the-ladder Maribyrnong Greens) before finishing the season against top-placed Pascoe Vale.

Despite coming off a week's break, the Red Devils have only 14 players available for selection due to suspensions and illness.

For the trip to Cairnlea, the Reds will be without Dom Swinton, who collected his fifth yellow card of the season, and Luke Armstrong, who was shown a red card at Werribee. Both players will miss one week.

The DiGirolamo brothers, Sandro and Seb, are the latest victims of the virus that has affected most of the squad over the last month.

Coming back in will be Tristan Romein after his one week suspension and Luke Wigmore back from a week off with the flu.

Ryan Rykers comes back into the squad after missing the past month with a calf injury.

"The spirit in the group is very good and we've had an excellent week in training, and the players are very keen to go out and finish the season on a positive note," Ballarat coach Danny Gnjidic said.

"We just can't seem to get a full team out on the park at the moment. Since the Williamstown game at the end of June, injuries, suspensions and illness have played havoc with our week-to-week preparation."

Ashley Lymn, playing on a wing, was back to his best against Werribee City and looked comfortable out wide. Chris Burns, playing his first senior match of the season, also played well and could have been the Reds' hero had he taken his opportunities in front of goal.

Seb DiGirolamo is expected to pick up Cairnlea centre-forward Erdem Koc, who has scored seven goals. Koc scored 11 goals last season including a hat-trick against the Reds in a 7-nil thumping that the Red Devils players are still smarting over.