The fearlessness of youth has Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert on edge ahead of Sunday’s A-League match against Melbourne Heart at Westpac Stadium.

The Phoenix are riding high, third on the table after picking up back-to-back wins across the Tasman last week.

They are just one point ahead of the fourth-placed Heart, who have had a dismal run recently in picking up two points from a possible 15 and have to look back to a 4-0 victory over Sydney FC a month ago for their last win.

Herbert, however, takes no consolation from the Melbourne team’s recent slump in form.

“They’re a good footballing side – they’ve got plenty of pace around the pitch,” he said.

“They’re relatively young and I think there’s a lot of ability to express. I don’t think there’s a lot of fear in their team.”

Heart coach John van ‘t Schip will have midfielder Wayne Srhoj as an option off the bench after his recovery from a quad injury, but is still missing the wise head of captain Fred, struggling from an on-going groin problem.

Herbert says he’s looking for his players to exploit that lack of experience, as well as stretching young defenders Brendan Hamill and Curtis Good at the back.

“Fred dropping out has probably been a little bit of a miss for the team, just from an organisational point of view,” Herbert said.

“But they’ve got plenty of good players there, they’ll be another big challenge for us.”

Among those are Heart youngsters Mate Dugandzic, Aziz Behich and Jason Hoffman. The trio will be looking to impress in their last A-League match before they head off for a training camp ahead of the Australian under-23 team’s Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent early next month.

The Phoenix will attack Sunday’s game with confidence, although they may have to look elsewhere for goals than last week’s surprise matchwinner Manny Muscat, in doubt as he awaits the birth of his first child in Melbourne.

Herbert is planning a starting line-up without the rock solid right back, with Vince Lia a possibility after coming through training unscathed on Friday following a knee injury two weeks ago.

Youngster Cameron Lindsay is also an option if Lia’s recovery stalls.

Herbert said the second half of the season had been excellent for the Phoenix as they picked up 18 points out of a possible 27, but they needed to kick on.

“We’re going into the last part of the year, everyone is going to be desperate and chasing, but I think we’re good enough to be there.”