Riki Hosoai, a striker, and Japanese goalkeeper Hiromi Nakashina have been cleared to play and will add to the strength of the squad, one that is looking to bounce back following a 4-0 round one loss when it steps onto Morshead Park on Saturday afternoon.

Director of football James Robinson said the final squad would be released on Saturday, but he was excited by what the two players will offer.

City will take on Whittlesea Ranges, which also suffered a round one defeat, going down 6-0 to St Albans Saints.

Robinson said both teams will be hungry to redeem.

"Both teams are hurting, they want to rectify last week," Robinson said.

"We'll give Whittlesea the respect that they deserve. But for us it's about making sure we focus on ourselves."

Robinson said the group had enjoyed a strong week on the track, keeping the morale up despite going down in the season opener.

Robinson said there was promise in the 4-0 loss, particularly with his young core. Robinson said it was vital his side focuses on executing its own performance, rather than getting tied up with too much opposition analysis.

"It's a six day turnaround, so it's a bit of a shorter week for us but we've had a good week, the boys are fresh. It's the second game of the year, so the boys will be sharp.

"We know what we need to do...we're excited to play in front of our home fans and show them what we've been working on."

Kick-off is at 4pm while it is a big day of soccer for the club, with the under-12s beginning proceedings at 9am with matches in the lead-up to the seniors.