THE BIGGEST test in the Football Federation Victoria men's state league four season awaits Sebastopol Vikings on Saturday.
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Vikings will attempt to end Hoppers Crossing's 11-match winning streak in round 12 action at the Grange Reserve.
This week's visitors were beaten 2-1 the last time the two met, but stand-in coach Jonathan Davey plans to enter the second encounter with different tactics to gain the upper hand.
Davey concedes that Crossing employs the same tactics as the Vikings but at a higher standard, and he hopes that a tighter line of defence will be enough to change the dynamics of the match.
"We're going to be as tight and as compact as possible in defence," he said.
"They're a hardworking team and they really focus on holding onto position and working it around."
The Vikings lost another player to its hamstring curse in last week's draw against Melton Phoenix, with Shaya Almousa likely to miss the next 3-4 rounds of play.
However, Laurence Tombe looks to have overcome an injury of a similar nature and will be in line for selection.
To compensate for his losses, Davey plans to take a makeshift line-up into Saturday's away game.
Alex Antonelli will shift from the midfield into central defence alongside Davey, while Scott Berg will come off the bench to take Antonelli's spot in the middle of the ground.
The Vikings sit in 10th spot on the ladder with two wins.
Hoppers Crossing v Vikings
at Grange Reserve on Saturday, 3pm