Paul Okon says his Central Coast side have to be "brave" when taking on defending champions Sydney on their home turf.
The Mariners head south on Saturday night to face the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium.
Sydney FC have not lost at home this season and have suffered only one defeat all campaign - against Central Coast in Gosford.
But Okon doubts revenge will be on the Sky Blues' minds this weekend.
"You need to be brave when you go down to Allianz," the coach said.
"Sydney's got a very strong record there. You need to turn up ready to work hard and I'm sure the boys will do that.
"First and foremost they want to keep their winning run going, whether it's against us or another team.
"Revenge... maybe that's more of a question for them. They'll want to put that right, they'll not want to lose their first game at home for a while.
"It's business as usual, but it's Sydney FC away and we know it's going to be tough.
"We're going to have to work really hard to get something from the game."
The Mariners' 2-0 upset win in November was Sydney FC's first loss in nine months.
Okon is adamant his team has moved on from that important victory in round six.
"We're aware of what we did well in that game," he said.
"We're also aware of where we also we need to be better. We enjoyed that victory but we've moved on pretty quickly. Sydney FC have improved since then.
"In that game they were without Mierzejewski who everyone has seen in a short space of time the impact he's had on the A-League.
"So for us, we've had a look how Sydney's travelling but we feel if we do things we can do right then we cn compete against any team in the competition."
Related Articles

Former Socceroo Sainsbury returns to Mariners in ALM

Socceroos midfield star Nisbet joins Scottish side Ross
.jpg&h=172&w=306&c=1&s=1)