It will be a welcome return for the influential Porter, who is yet to team up in Gold Coast colours with new striker Bruce Djite.

While it's unlikely that both will start the match together due to Porter's lack of match fitness, the former Socceroo is slated to play some part in Sunday's clash with the league leaders and is relieved to have shaken off the injury that has soured his season.

"I'm feeling really good now. I trained all last week at about 80% and got through it all, so this week I've stepped it up another few notches and I'm on course to be involved this weekend," Porter said.

"It's been setback after setback to be honest and it's been a very frustrating time, but I'm confident that it's all behind me now and I'm really looking forward to getting out there again.

"The match on Sunday has all the ingredients of a great clash and I can see this one being the game of the round. Adelaide are top at the moment and we're looking to keep the pressure on them. If we can get another win at home it will put us in a strong position and we can keep building from week to week.

"Adelaide might be down one or two players but they have some good players to come into the squad and they will be strong no matter what starting team they put out. Young Ramsey has done very well for them when he's played, and he's scored goals, so we know what to expect from them and what to look out for."

Strike partner Bruce Djite, who has struck three goals in his last two outings, revealed earlier in the week that he had been playing with a minor ankle injury since arriving in Queensland, but confirmed he will be fully fit for the visit of his old club.

A pain-killing injection before the 1-1 draw with Sydney FC in round eight helped him get off the mark for Gold Coast and the powerful attacker says the best anaesthetic for any striker is the feeling of hitting the back of the net.

"All players get little niggling injuries and I've had this one for a few weeks, but it's cleared up now and won't present a problem. It's like any injury; it feels a lot better when you're scoring goals," he joked.

"The FIFA break weekend off helped a lot; I'm 100% and looking forward to the match. I'm comfortable with the team and comfortable with the role that Miron wants me to play. I've only played in a handful of games and have been a little hampered with this ankle injury for some of those, so there is definitely more to come from me," Djite said.

23-year-old Djite spent two years with the Reds before heading overseas to Turkey and the youngster has fond memories of his time with the South Australian outfit.

Well qualified to speak about the collective strength that has elevated Adelaide to the summit of the Hyundai A-League, Djite says Gold Coast will need to match the visitors in every department to take the three points.

"There have been a lot of changes at Adelaide United and there aren't too many players there now who were at the club when I was. But they've got a good team and are a really good club so it will be nice to play against them on Sunday," he said.

"Even when they haven't played to their best they've managed to win matches and that's a sign of a good side. We know we will have to work very hard to get the result we want. They've shown how hard they are to break down and what a tightly knit bunch they are, so it will be up to us to match that.

"They're undefeated and we want the three points from them so we can concentrate on what we want to achieve for the season. It's about time they had a loss and we want to be the first team to do that to them on the weekend."

Gold Coast welcome back defender John Curtis who returns after serving a one-match suspension, with youngsters Ben Halloran and Chris Harold again included as they push for game time with the senior side.

James Brown, who was so influential from the bench in United's last outing against Wellington Phoenix, is another who will be looking to cement a starting role after a string of impressive performances this season.