COLLINGWOOD will not put all of its energy into stopping Chris Judd when it tackles Carlton on Sunday.

The arch rivals will play before what is expected to be a capacity crowd at the MCG, and while assistant coach Nathan Buckley acknowledged Judd's importance he said the Pies had to be wary of the Blues' ability to produce different game styles.

The Blues are 3-2 from five rounds and sit inside the top eight, surpassing the tips of many pundits who predicted a year of doom and gloom at Visy Park.

But, speaking after Collingwood's main training session on Thursday, Buckley said Carlton's form wasn't surprising.

"They've always had a very strong midfield," Buckley said.

"There's been a lot of talk from the outside about now (Brendan) Fevola not being there but they haven't had any trouble scoring goals, their defence has been solid [and] it's got a lot of run.

"They’ve played against differing styles against teams over the last five weeks and been able to perform against those teams with different types of defences and attacks, so they've done extremely well and they've given us a lot to look at.”

Judd has played a pivotal role since returning from suspension, starring in recent wins over Adelaide and Geelong with 30 and 27 disposals.

Buckley said the Brownlow Medallist was a difficult man to contain given half of his possessions were contested.

"He's come in off three weeks of not playing in the first three rounds and been pretty close to BOG in both games and had a tremendous impact on the way Carlton plays, so he's a great player," he said.

"If you try to minimise his impact, obviously that would go a long way to having the game played the way we want it to be played, but too much focus on him and (Kade) Simpson pops out or (Heath) Scotland pops out, (Bryce) Gibbs can go through the middle, (Andrew) Carrazzo.

"The Carlton midfield performance was very good on the weekend, and that wasn't just Chris Judd, so although he is a great player … I think we're taking our eye off the ball if we only have one focus.

"I don't think you can have one guy who commits to an opposition player with a sole focus of stopping him … we'll be aware of him, but he won't be our sole focus."

Collingwood enters the match in red-hot form itself, coming off consecutive 10-goal wins over Hawthorn and Essendon.

That means coach Mick Malthouse is unlikely to tinker too much with his side.

Captain Nick Maxwell, Heath Shaw and Leigh Brown failed to train on Thursday morning while crafty forward Leon Davis only took part in running drills.

But Buckley said their absence won't cause the selectors too much concern.

"That's probably standard. We understand it's a long season … [Davis], along with plenty of other guys, will be loaded off from time to time during the week and there's nothing to read into that."

Defender Simon Prestigiacomo, who missed the Anzac Day win over the Bombers with groin soreness, has been listed as a one week away.

However, he did train on Thursday morning, raising hopes of an early recall.

"He's a great player, there's no doubt that … when he's in the side, we do feel a lot more comfortable," Buckley said.