Herbert is looking forward to the clash and senses this may be a good time to be taking on Miron Bleiberg's men.

"There were some pretty bold statements at the start of the year from the Gold Coast around what they wanted to achieve. Now they've dropped three in a short period of time and they'll be trying to put the right on Friday," said Herbert.

"There's a bit of uncertainty around them now, they're conceding a lot of goals. There is a lot of vulnerability there."

However, the Phoenix boss is taking nothing for granted.

"The flipside (of losing) is that they could come out and put in a really resolute performance, but that's for us to try to control," he said.

Being sharper at the attacking end will be a priority for the visitors.

"We've got to be on the front foot," Herbert said. "They're the sort of side that likes to throw caution to the wind but that can open up opportunities for us to exploit. We'll need to get people in key attacking positions and take the chances when we get them."

With Gold Coast boasting the attacking capacity of former Phoenix striker Shane Smeltz, Jason Culina and Joel Porter, Phoenix will again need a determined defensive effort.

"Shane's the best striker in the league, so he's going to come in for some attention," Herbert said. "Jason is vastly experienced and Joel's made a big impact in his first season as well. They're good at the sharp end of the pitch. But again, it's for us to control. If we can deny them quality ball then it might make the night a bit more comfortable for us.

"We kept our first clean sheet of the season last weekend (0-0 against the Mariners), so that's very heartening for all the players at the back. But we have lacked that finish at the top and that's probably cost us four or five points to date."

Herbert said Phoenix were developing excellent combinations right across the pitch - Paul Ifill and Chris Greenacre up front, skipper Andrew Durante and Ben Sigmund at the heart of the back four and Tim Brown and Vince Lia in midfield.

The Phoenix coach added: "Tim and Vince, in particular, were very good against the Mariners, doing the work on defence dampening down (opposition) attacks and still getting forward on attack. Those combinations are getting settled now and we need to keep that type of pattern going.

"The whole squad's been very good this week and let's hope Friday night can be the turning point for us."