The 29-year-old is heading into his fourth Melbourne derby after a frustrating run of injuries hindered his career.

City (second) is looking to upstage crosstown rival Victory (third) as Franjic’s team holds the wood over the Blue and White with a 4-1 win in Round 2 and a 2-0 FFA Cup semi-final win.

Franjic deemed the encounter as the biggest in the regular season in the lead-up to Christmas.

“When I was a kid growing up it was more Melbourne Knights V South Melbourne as the big derby,” Franjic said.

“It was a lot more different, now it’s 11 years on, the A-Leagues been great and when Melbourne Heart came into the league it’s given that extra bit of spice to Melbourne.

“When you grow up you want to play in front of your family and friends for the biggest games and this is one of the biggest on the calendar.

“The whole of Victoria watches it if not the whole of Australia, it’s a big game, always big crowds and sell-outs.”

Franjic has recovered from heart inflammation and has been a key starter since his return in Round 6 against Newcastle Jets.

He said he felt stronger after the set-backs.

“It was hard at the time when I went through it (heart inflammation), but I don’t want people feeling sorry for me,” he said.

“I’m always a positive person and always look at the positive things in life, most positive thing is I’m back playing football, I’ve got a good family around me and I’m happy.

“As you get older you mature more and you have injuries in the past and know how to stop them to a certain extent, some things you can’t stop.”

The Socceroos right-back position is still yet to be filled by coach Ange Postecoglou who took Franjic to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Franjic said regular game time at City was imperative if he hoped to be a genuine contender for the national team.

The Socceroos’ next competitive game is against Iraq in Tehran, Iran in March.

“First and foremost is I don’t get injured anymore, start playing consistently for City,” he said.

“You want to become first (on the table) and when you’re up on the table and playing well, things usually take care of themselves.”

Franjic took time with teammates Thomas Sorensen, Neil Kilkenny, Daniel Arzani, Osama Malik, Luke Brattan and Tim Cahill did voluntary work at FareShare Kitchen in Abbotsford preparing meals for the less fortunate this week.

FareShare relies on volunteers and cooks 5000 meals from surplus food collected at supermarkets, farmers and other business which would otherwise be wasted.

“It’s good to be here to get a different perspective on football,” Franjic said.

“To help out, it’s great and you appreciate it more.”