The Bombers have won just two games of their past nine and sit 12th on the ladder with no hope of playing in September.
By comparison, the Magpies have not lost since round 10 and are a game and a half clear of Geelong on top.
But there will be no taking the Bombers for granted, according to Magpies captain Nick Maxwell, who believes the young side’s showing against top-ranked sides this year gives them more than a good chance of toppling the Collingwood juggernaut.
“They’ve shown they can beat teams,” he said.
“Obviously they were disappointed with the way they went last week and we’ve seen with the way Carlton came out last weekend that teams really hurt when they have had a loss to the arch enemy.
“So we’ll be expecting them to come out [hard]. They’re a good young side and they’ve got some very, very good young players and we’ve got to make sure we’re on our guard.”
The two sides last met on Anzac Day on what was a dark day for the red and black as they sunk to their fourth loss for the season with a 65-point defeat.
Essendon coach Matthew Knights says the Bombers will have to be even better than the Magpies were on that April day if they are to be any chance of victory this time.
“They’ve upped the ante in all areas [since round five],” he said,
“Defensively, they’re sounder and much more foolproof with their energy and their tackling and their pressing.
“Offensively and with the ball they’re scoring at will at the moment it seems and they get you in so many ways.”
He named Chris Dawes and Travis Cloke as contested-marking strengths, Alan Didak and Scott Pendlebury as players who hurt you on the ground and Dayne Beams as a dangerous forward option.
But he believes their consistency and evenness is their greatest weapon of all.
“They’re strong in all parts of the ground and their team has been really consistent in continuity. They’ve put up a really consistent team over the last eight weeks,” he said.
“They’re in great form and they’re superb opposition for us on Friday night.
“We’ve got to concentrate on playing better than we did last week. We had a magnificent win over St Kilda, played at a really high level and showed some real glimpses of where we’re heading as a group.
“Then to take a couple of steps back last week was hugely disappointing.”
Maxwell issued an ominous warning to Essendon - the Magpies plan to use this game and their next two as a warm-up for the September season.
“We're still miles away from where we need to be if we're going to achieve what we want to achieve, so we need these three weeks to make sure we're playing the way we need to play.”
