Melbourne coach Dean Bailey faces mission impossible on two fronts this Sunday when the Demons take on Geelong at the MCG.

The Demons must find a way of stopping Cats superstar Gary Ablett, who is in the purplest of patches, and derail a Geelong locomotive which shows no signs of slowing down.

Ablett, who bookmakers have at better than even money to win the Brownlow after just five rounds, followed up a career-best 46 possessions against Adelaide with another 42 touches last week against Brisbane.

So brilliant is Ablett at finding the ball no matter how closely he is tagged, Bailey is working on a strategy to curtail his effectiveness rather than shutting him out of the game.

Tacitly, it's a concession Ablett will again be a ball magnet this Sunday.

"He creates the play, he's very difficult to tackle so we've got to make sure when he's got the ball in his hands the decision that he makes with it is going to be difficult," Bailey said.

"It's the efficiency we're going to try and reduce."

"He's a class player playing in a class team and Gary works incredibly hard as well."

The Demons, last year's wooden-spooner and who were held goalless in the first half against Adelaide last Sunday, are rated an $11 chance (TAB Sportsbet) of upsetting the Cats, who have won 47 of their past 50 games.

They were on the wrong end of a 116-point thumping when the teams last met in Round 19, managing only two goals in the opening three quarters.

"We've still got to attack the game. That doesn't change from week to week," Bailey said.

"We're playing against a very good team but we've got to make sure we're in the contest for as long as we can be and that's going to take a lot of effort."

"The attitude it going to be at its best against what most people would say is the best team in the competition."