Preview: Essendon v Collingwood

VENUE & TIME: MCG, Saturday 26 July, 2.10pm AEST
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 217, Essendon 96, Collingwood 117, Drawn 4
LAST TIME: Collingwood 23.16 (154) def Essendon 12.9 (81), Round 6, 2008 at the MCG

WALKING WOUNDED: Essendon's injury list, which has blown out to 18 names, includes just four who face fitness tests. Of those, only two - Dustin Fletcher (ankle) and Andrew Welsh (concussion) - are in contention for senior selection. The main losses for the Bombers from last Saturday's defeat by Richmond are Angus Monfries and Jay Neagle, both of whom sustained ankle injuries. Of the seven players on Collingwood's official injury list, only Leon Davis, a late withdrawal from last week's loss to North Melbourne with an ankle strain, is in contention to return against the Bombers.

FORM: Last Saturday's controversial four-point loss to Richmond ended a run of four-straight wins for the 12th-placed Bombers who are 6-10 overall, while Collingwood (5th on the ladder and 9-7) lost valuable ground on the top four in going down to North Melbourne on Friday night.

WHO'S HOT: Essendon's David Hille is probably the form ruckman of the competition right now while Brent Stanton, after a slow start to the season when he struggled to cope with hard tags, has really started to come good. The hard-running onballer gathered 27 disposals, 12 marks and two goals against the Tigers last week. Scott Pendlebury has enjoyed a very consistent season for Collingwood and last Friday night's performance was among his best. The 20-year-old picked up 25 touches and kicked a goal to be one of the Pies' few winners on the night.

WE THINK: Essendon has been playing with outstanding spirit over the past five rounds and, with something like a full list to choose from, they would probably go in as warm favourites against Collingwood. But an injury list comprising 18 names not only denies Matthew Knights the services of many of his first-choice players, it robs him of vital flexibility on match day. If Essendon can pull this off with their bare bones line-up, the names of the 22 heroes should be etched in bronze at Windy Hill. The bottom line is that the Magpies, despite their unconvincing effort against North last week, have too much to play for and will field something much closer to a first-choice line-up. Leon Davis should be back and Josh Fraser is a chance to line-up in the goal square. This is the sort of match where flat track intimidators such as Alan Didak and Paul Medhurst move in for the kill. Collingwood by 25 points.