But Arnold has warned while it's great to have Perez back on deck for the vital clash against the Mariners' fierce rivals after an eight-game absence, he says it would be unfair to expect the diminutive playmaker to carry the weight of expectation purely on his shoulders.

"I don't think anyone has been more frustrated through this, but I've also been patient with him," Arnold said.

"He's back to a good physical condition now and he's probably back to where he wants to be.

"We still have another 14 games in the competition and we have done well to get where we are without him, and Musti (Amini) has had a fantastic month, but now it's time.

"As I told him It's time you have to get on the pitch and perform and play, show everyone the reason why I bought you out and why you have those accolades you've got in Argentina."

Perez's returns comes against the side where he created controversy earlier in the season after winning a dubious penalty against the Sky Blues in a 1-1 draw at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The Sky Blues are currently on the improve, following a midweek 3-1 win over Wellington, but coach Vitezslav Lavicka said it was important to give his players rest ahead of the clash given their busy schedule of late.

"We are more confident than before because we've improved over the last part of the season," Lavicka said.

"But it's a pretty busy program for us so we need to recover, refresh physically and mentally, and focus for this coming game.

"We saw [the Mariners] last game against Brisbane who I have to say are doing brilliantly this season, but full credit to the Mariners as well because they are playing good football this season, especially in the first period.

"Every team has a period when they play better or worse, we expect a tough game because we know they have good quality."

The Mariners are also experiencing a busy period but have had a much deserved six days between matches this week, a luxury not enjoyed for the last month, which has seen a gruelling schedule of six games, four of which involved away trips.

"This week has been good. It has given us some time on the training pitch to work on things which we haven't been able to do when we've been playing games as frequently as what we are," Arnold said.

"The players were feeling a little bit down but we've had a good week and now the players are up."

"They (Sydney) are in the middle of a difficult run with a lot of games but we've had the same.

"We had seven weeks away where we just travelled and played which wasn't easy, but the character and mentality in this group is fantastic.

"For the first time in four weeks we've got a full squad to choose from except for Brad Porter and Daniel McBreen. (Nik) Mrdja is back, Perez is back and (Pedj) Bojic is back, which is great news."

Adam Kwasnik is expected to start alongside Matt Simon tomorrow night following Daniel McBreen's suspension, and Arnold says the foundation Mariner thoroughly deserves his chance in what will be his 99th appearance in Yellow and Navy, after four goals in seven matches off the bench.

"He's been giving me a headache for the last few weeks because every game he comes on he either scores or looks like scoring," Arnold said.

"Kwas has been in great form and I'm looking for a good performance from him and Matty Simon tomorrow night."

Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque, who sealed victory over the Phoenix in midweek with the third goal, is confident he and partner Mark Bridge - who bagged his own goal and two assists on Wednesday - can continue causing defensive headaches this weekend.

"As a forward I hope I can continue to keep doing that," Brosque said. "It helps the boys and it's good for Bridgey too, so it's all positive but we need to get out there and show it."

"We're not getting ahead of ourselves, we know how poorly we started the season and that's still hurting in the back of our minds.

"We want to make sure for us and the fans who endured those hard weeks that we continue don't get ahead of ourselves because we're not in the top six yet."

Sydney FC's famous "Cove" is expected to make the trek up the F3 in strong numbers again on Saturday, and Arnold has issued a call to arms to all Mariners members and supporters to come out in force and get behind their team.

"We need a big crowd. Our supporters have often said that Saturday night is their favourite time to come and watch the Mariners play, it doesn't get in the way of them spending family time on the beaches around the Coast so I hope people really show that and get behind the team," Arnold said.

"If we get a big crowd behind us and supporting us against Sydney I'm sure that we will get the result we need."