Speed kills and only midfield pressure can act as a roadblock to the Western Bulldogs' band of fleet-footed assassins this Saturday at the MCG, Melbourne coach Dean Bailey warned on Friday.

How to kerb the Bulldogs' rapid ball movement has been a central point this week in the planning of Bailey and his match committee, which includes former Bulldogs champion Scott West.

Bailey said West, who became a part-time assistant coach with the Demons this season after playing 324 games for the Bulldogs, provided intimate knowledge of their opponent's midfield set-up and preferred style of play.

Pressure was important, Bailey said, as it would prevent the Bulldogs from pinpointing passes inside their forward 50 like they did last Sunday against Adelaide.

"We've highlighted that to the guys this week," Bailey said on Friday.

"When you play a smaller forward line you've really got to pressure them through the middle of the ground. You can't give them too much space to work within."

Even if Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney had a quiet game, Bailey said, others would bob up and fill the void such was the Bulldogs' midfield depth.

"If you stop Cooney then all of a sudden you've got (Ryan) Griffen running around. If he's not there then you've got (Nathan) Eagleton popping up on a wing," the coach said.

"(Daniel) Cross seems to play consistently every week and then one of their underrated players in (Matthew) Boyd is someone who does everything very, very well all the time."

The Demons were given a first-hand view of a rampant Bulldogs midfield in Round 2 last year when they were mauled by 95 points just a week after being crushed by subsequent premier Hawthorn.

Coincidentally, the Demons face the same two sides in the next two rounds.

"It's a little bit dangerous to compare last year's game to this year's game only because of the personnel changes," Bailey said.

"Last year was a really poor performance but different team, different attitude. Hopefully we've got a new dimension and a new attitude this week."

The Demons welcome back courageous veteran Matthew Whelan, who is one of three changes to the side which lost narrowly last week against West Coast in Perth.

Bailey said important defender Jared Rivers was recovering well after hurting his ankle in Perth and was confident he would return to the side next week.