Kiwi Bunge keen to lead Victory past Nix

Claudia Bunge knows most of Wellington Phoenix's team like the back of her hand but the Melbourne Victory defender won't be taking it easy on her fellow Kiwis.

New Zealand international Bunge has marshalled Victory's defence for the past three A-League Women seasons, winning two championships.

The 23-year-old relishes the prospect of facing some of her youth and senior international teammates on Sunday.

"I'm really excited. I've grown up with a lot of the girls who play for the Phoenix and every time I play them, I definitely want to beat them,"  Bunge said.

"There's definitely a bit of friendly fire and we're mates off the field after the game, but I'm really looking forward to it and it should be a competitive game.

"I've been following them quite closely and I know Nat (Lawrence, Phoenix coach) quite well, she's been coaching me over the past few years.

"They're a really physical side and they want to press for 90 minutes so we know to expect that. 

"It's awesome that they've signed a couple of older girls. Having Betsy (Hassett) in the middle is awesome for them and having Paige (Satchell) out wide, she's always a threat too.

"We're expecting them to be really energetic and they're going to come out firing straight from the first whistle."

Victory have had a slow start to their title defence, losing to Western United and Sydney FC while failing to score.

They have also lost striker Catherine Zimmerman until late in the season after she fractured her fibula against Sydney FC.

Bunge tipped fellow striker Melina Ayres to hit the target for the first time this season while winger Lia Privitelli will return from injury, as should left-back Gema Simon.

Bunge is confident the tide will turn for Victory and they can again compete come the pointy end of the season.

"We've got a great group of girls and Jeff (Hopkins) is a fantastic coach," she said.

"The processes we have day in, day out at training are really good and I think it's just a matter of time before that will shine through.

"But this weekend we have to get three points so we're really focusing on that and hopefully we can build our performance on top of that."

The game is being played at Epping Stadium instead of City Vista with the pitch at Fraser Rise deemed not suitable for play.