Bleiberg knows there is an element of the unknown about Heart but is wary of their good form, having won the inaugural Melbourne derby and taken a difficult point away from Wellington Phoenix's fortress, Westpac Stadium.

Bleiberg has almost the entire Gold Coast United squad available for selection and will take a strong fifteen to Victoria to face the Hyundai A-League newcomers.

"They've had a bit of an indifferent start to the season but now they had two good results - winning the derby and taking a point away from Wellington - so they are probably on a high. But I'm happy we caught them on a high because it means that they will play open football and try to win," Bleiberg said.

"We're going to play our game and let them worry about us. We're not going to be stupid - we'll get a feeling for the opposition in the first few minutes - but overall that's the idea, that we're going to play an open game.

"We're happy with where we are - we're in fourth place and we're like an animal in the jungle waiting to hunt, we'll pounce when we need to pounce. At the moment we'll do what we need to do and keep in touch with the top four. 

"It's a very delicate situation but we need to get the three points, especially if we take the view that we missed two points against Adelaide. If we're not collecting points at home we have to get them away instead.

"We're going to play free-flowing, open football and I believe that Melbourne Heart are supposed to be full of confidence so they should react the same and the people who come and watch will benefit."

Defender Dino Djulbic is one of the main reasons United have conceded only six goals in their nine matches so far this term, including keeping league leaders Adelaide United scoreless last Sunday, and Djulbic believes this strong platform gives the rest of the club great confidence for the trip down to AAMI Park to face Melbourne Heart this Saturday.

"We've only lost one game, so the confidence is here and the team is buzzing. We haven't conceded many goals although we haven't scored as many as we would like, but we can certainly find the net away from home," he said.

"We've got three away games in a row coming up and we're confident of doing well. Joel Porter is back now as well which is a major bonus for us and we've got Bruce (Djite) playing well, along with plenty of other players who can get goals for us."

With the Heart joining the Hyundai A-League this season, Djulbic admits there is some novelty in taking on the new kids on the block for the first time, but having examined the start to their debut season with a fine-toothed comb he knows what to expect from them.

"Our whole squad has watched their games, analysed them and we know how they perform. They try to play football, which is good for us as it will suit what we want to do," he said.

Djulbic lamented the growing tendency for visiting sides to play dour defensive football at Skilled Park and sees the next three weeks - starting with the Heart - as an opportunity to play a more open brand of football in the space provided by their hosts.

"The more attacking they are, the better it is for us because we'll have room to get forward ourselves. It's different to when we play at home. Usually teams park the bus at the back which means we can't play our natural game and it's harder for us to break them down," he said.

"I guess we're getting used to it, teams did it last year as well. The only team that came and played football here was Brisbane, but we've just got to deal with it. When we go away it might be easier for us to play the way we want to."