It's a personal milestone match for Mark Milligan but the only thing the Macarthur captain wants in Monday's big A-League clash with Central Coast is revenge.
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The Bulls suffered a 2-0 defeat when they faced the Mariners in round two this season in a classic smash-and-grab performance by Alen Stajcic's men.
Since then both teams have become the surprise benchmarks in the fledgling competition.
The Mariners have defied their recent history to now sit four points clear on top of the ladder with seven wins from 10 matches, with competition newcomers Macarthur climbing to second with three wins from their past four games.
Monday's trip to Gosford will be 35-year-old Milligan's 150th A-League appearance in a career that began at Sydney FC in 2005 and has also included stints at Newcastle and Melbourne Victory.
All the ex-Socceroos captain wants to do however is avenge that round two loss in the top-of-the-table battle.
"It's a nice milestone but I think more importantly it's a very big match for us," Milligan said.
"Central Coast have been outstanding so far and it's going to be a big challenge.
"Obviously we had a disappointing result against them first time round. We've done a lot of work this week and we need to have a good positive performance and take the three points."
Veteran defender James Meredith has been named by coach Ante Milicic in Macarthur's squad after recovering from a groin injury.
The Mariners claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win at Perth last Tuesday and Milicic says their impressive start to the season is no fluke.
"They have a lot of attacking threats with (Marcos) Urena, Matt Simon and (Alou) Kuol - they have all been excellent," Milicic said.
"They are full of confidence and very good from set pieces. It's up to us to execute our defensive roles on these players."
KEY MATCH STATS
* Central Coast claimed a 2-0 win over Macarthur when these teams met in round two despite the Bulls having 69 per cent possession and recording 14 shots to the Mariners' six.
* Macarthur captain Mark Milligan has won just six of 19 matches against Central Coast in his A-League career.
* Mariners' forward Matt Simon has scored a goal in each of Central Coast's past four league wins.
Australian Associated Press
