Wellington Phoenix wait to make call on All Whites' involvement

Thanassis Stavrakis/AP

All Whites fullback Tim Payne vies for the ball with Greece's Giannis Konstantelias.

A-League Men: Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City Where: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland When: Saturday, 4.30pm Coverage: Live on Sky Sport 7, updates on Stuff

Wellington Phoenix face a major selection headache ahead of their A-League Men clash with Melbourne City in Auckland.

The Phoenix will be looking to continue their unbeaten start at Mt Smart Stadium – the home of their soon-to-be rivals – but coach Giancarlo Italiano has revealed he might have to make do without some of his All Whites.

Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen and defenders Finn Surman and Tim Payne, all regular starters for the Phoenix, are only due back in the country on Friday, the day before Saturday’s match.

The trio have been in Europe on international duty and Italiano said it would be a big ask to expect Payne in particular to front up on Saturday given his heavy workload.

The right-back played 179 minutes across the All Whites’ two matches, against Greece on Saturday and the Republic of Ireland on Thursday.

Italiano said the All Whites would meet the team in Auckland on Friday afternoon following their lengthy travel schedule, which means they won’t have a single training session prior to the round five match.

It is unclear who would start at right back if Payne was not able to, given he is the only right back in the squad.

Mohamed Al-Taay played there during the Australia Cup, but he has started the past three matches in midfield, which is his most comfortable position.

Surman made his All Whites debut as a late substitute in the match against Greece but did not come on against Ireland, while Paulsen did not feature in either fixture.

“I think we’ll make our call on Friday,” Italiano said.

“They arrive on Friday but my big question mark would be over Tim Payne because he’s started in both games and there’s a duty of care with him getting in one day before with a bit of jet lag.

“We might be putting him at a risk [if we play him].”

Despite drawing 1-1 with Melbourne Victory in their last fixture to continue their best-ever start, the Phoenix failed to register a single shot across the 90 minutes.

The final third would no doubt have been the key area to work on during the international break, but Italiano laughed off the “very impressive” stat line and has promised to play a more attacking style at home.

It will not be their home for much longer though, with confirmation coming this week that Auckland will have their own team next year, bankrolled by Bournemouth’s American billionaire owner Bill Foley.

Italiano said he was still hoping to count on Auckland's home support on Saturday.

“Every time we’ve gone there we’ve done reasonably well. It’s always been good, and the fans always show up,” Italiano said.

“This might bring more fans to watch and maybe because it’s one of the last games we will play here, they will come out in force.”