For Regan Coldicott, it is unlikely to be as dramatic as his match last week against Green Island, which lasted only minutes as the Mosgiel striker challenged for a through ball and clashed with keeper Josh Dijkstra.
Knee ligament damage will keep Coldicott sidelined for six to eight weeks, and puts tremendous pressure on Mosgiel's five under-17 players in the senior squad.
Mosgiel coach Andrew Brook is unfazed that the Plainsmen finished seven places and 30 points behind Technical last season.
''It's a new season, and we have been training and playing well,'' he said.
Aaron Corkill, who scored a penalty last week, is stranded in Christchurch this weekend, and Mosgiel identities Mike Abbott and big Tom Beckker are unlikely to play.
Technical coach Aaron Burgess expects a hard game, especially away from home on the big Memorial Park playing surface.
Last week, Technical was slow to start, and frontrunners Alistair Rickerby, Taylor McCormack and Tom McBride did not immediately mesh, but after McNab scored in the 32nd minute, the Queenstown side wilted.
Defender Matt Joy also appeared to be in good form despite his earlier injury, while wide runs by Justin Flaws and Ross Howard stretched Queenstown's defence.
At Tonga Park, Caversham is likely to start favourite against Queenstown, after blitzing Northern 7-0 last week. Striker Tom Jackson is always a handful for opposition defences, and he has been joined by brother Lewis, with captain Seamus Ryder driving forward from midfield.
Young goalkeeper Zayne Officer kept a clean sheet, and good performances by Brett Clifford and Michael Hogan also pleased coach Tim Horner.
New Queenstown coach Jamie Whitmarsh, who had eight players on debut last week, recognises the task before playing for the second week running in Dunedin.
''We prepared as well as we could in the pre-season, but it's a jump up, against top premier teams,'' Whitmarsh said.
Given a metre of space, Queenstown striker Ramzi Tourmi looked capable of inflicting damage, and flamboyant keeper Daniel Bocatios made some elastic saves.
Roslyn-Wakari plays Green Island at Ellis Park, and both teams will be looking for more defined patterns to their play this week.
Roslyn grabbed a 90th-minute point against Varsity, but coach Colin Thom has no more fingernails left for this week, and will want an early score.
Defender James Watson will be absent after a red card, and captain Sam Mepham has a broken foot, but Roslyn's real problems are in attack. Tom Connor and Damo Foster went close several times, but perhaps it will be forward-running midfielders such as Aajay Cunningham and Cam Attwood who can score.
Malcolm Fleming's Green Island side will be without Jack Kirkwood, who is off to England for trials. Poor passing and ball retention cost the Island last week, and the side also lost Cody Robinson in the second half for a second yellow.
At the Caledonian Ground, University coach Luiz Uehara wants to clinch a clear win over Northern to get his side's season properly started. Goalkeeper Jeff Potrich sits this one out after his expulsion last week.
University has a core of players with national league experience that should be able to dominate, and aim for a top placing if the squad plays to its potential.
Northern missed the rugged stability of Craig Wilkinson last week, and coach Murray Devereux is working hard to stabilise his team round Cam Higgins, new signing Ifeanyi Unamadu and Cam Kerr.
The women's competition features a top match for spectators tomorrow as Dunedin Technical plays Roslyn-Wakari at Culling Park. At Logan Park, University plays the Technical Diamonds.
