Take a look at our comprehensive preview of Essendon's clash with Gold Coast on Wednesday night.

GOLD COAST v ESSENDON

Wednesday, August 12
7:10pm AEST
Metricon Stadium
Live on Channel 7

THE HISTORY

Games played - 10
Won – 8
Lost – 2

FIVE FACTS

1. Searching for five in a row

This is a match-up that has been kind to Essendon, which has won its past four against Gold Coast. Should the streak continue on Wednesday night, the Suns will draw level with the Kangaroos as the Bombers' friendliest opponents.

2. Three games in 10 days

Essendon enters round 11 on the back of a five-day break, while Gold Coast has had an extra day of recovery. The Bombers must front up again on Sunday to face the Saints, while the Suns will again have an extra day of rest before playing against Richmond on Monday night. While it's a challenging scenario for the Bombers, they've managed to cope relatively well so far, losing just Michael Hurley and Sam Draper (both managed) from last week's side. The Suns have opted not to rest anyone.

3. Missing duo a rare sight

A line-up without Michael Hurley AND Cale Hooker? Notwithstanding the duo's suspended season in 2016, can you believe it's happened just once since round 18, 2012? That time came against the Dockers in the final home and away game of the 2017 season - a pulsating 15-point win at Marvel Stadium that saw the Dons clinch a finals berth. Hurley and Hooker join fellow All Australians Dyson Heppell, Jake Stringer and Joe Daniher on the sidelines for round 11, with another All Australian - Dylan Shiel - to lead the side as stand-in skipper.

4. Pressure, pressure, pressure...

...it's the golden word again. Ranked second overall in the pressure factor over the last five rounds, the Suns will bring the heat. That shouldn't worry the Bombers, who have made pressure - they are third for tackles and second for tackles inside 50 - their trademark this season. The challenge is to sustain the pressure long enough, as we saw in last week's second-half fadeout against the Giants.

5. The common denominators in Suns' wins

The Suns have won the contested possessions and clearances in all their victories except one this season, when the Swans bettered them for contested ball. Their games have had the third most contested possessions on average, while they sit a lowly 14th for uncontested possessions. It all points to a high-pressure, scrappy contest played in tight confines on a greasy deck at Metricon Stadium, which often isn't conducive to attractive football at night. The Bombers will look to capitalise on their advantage in centre clearances, ranked fourth to the Suns' 12th in this area.

LAST TIME WE MET

Round 19, 2019: Gold Coast 15.6 (96) lost to Essendon 16.10 (106) at Metricon Stadium

Essendon survived a huge scare in a come-from-behind win against the bottom-placed Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium last season.

The Suns looked set to snap a 13-game losing streak when leading by 27 points early in third term, until the Bombers surged with the last six goals of that term to take an eight-point lead at the final break.

It was far from a fait accompli, however, as the Suns hit back to lead in the dying stages.

But with the most clutch of set-shot goals inside the final minute, Cale Hooker stepped up again to snatch the lead.

A 70m long bomb from Jake Stringer out of the following centre clearance sealed the deal, with the explosive Bomber booting four goals and changing the game's momentum with his move to midfield.

Shaun McKernan (four goals, 15 disposals, eight marks) was judged best afield in the Bombers' fifth consecutive win, earning three Brownlow votes for the first time in his career.

FORM

Gold Coast
Round eight: Lost to Western Bulldogs 6.10 (46) to 7.9 (51) at Metricon Stadium
Round nine: Lost to GWS 4.11 (35) to 9.7 (61) at Metricon Stadium
Round 10: Lost to St Kilda 11.8 (74) to 12.6 (78) at Metricon Stadium

The Suns may be staring down the barrel of four consecutive losses, but have been far better than their formline suggests.

Vastly improved from last season, their ledger sits at 4-6 but could have easily been flipped given the narrow losses to the Bulldogs (five points) and Saints (four points).

With the additions of experienced big-bodied midfielders Hugh Greenwood and Brandon Ellis, the goalkicking threats in emerging stars Ben King and Izak Rankine, and a raft of talented youngsters adapting to a game-plan that is hard to crack, the Suns will ensure the Bombers have their work cut out.

Essendon
Round eight: Defeated Adelaide 9.8 (62) to 8.11 (59) at Adelaide Oval
Round nine: Lost to Brisbane 3.10 (28) to 14.7 (91) at Metricon Stadium
Round 10: Lost to GWS 8.7 (55) to 8.11 (59) at Metricon Stadium

After a 4-1 start to the season, the Bombers have lost three of their past four games to find themselves fighting for finals survival.

They were left to rue a missed opportunity against the Giants last week, blowing a 29-point lead in the second term to lose by a kick.

Their injury-hit forward line was dealt another blow, too, with a concussed Jacob Townsend joining Jayden Laverde, Joe Daniher, Jake Stringer, Orazio Fantasia and Cale Hooker on the sidelines.

With matches against top-eight sides St Kilda, Richmond, Geelong, Port Adelaide and West Coast still to come, the Bombers can ill-afford a defeat to the Suns.

TEAMS

GOLD COAST

Backs: Connor Budarick, Sam Collins, Jack Lukosius
Half-backs: Will Powell, Charlie Ballard, Jarrod Harbrow
Centre: Lachie Weller, Hugh Greenwood, Brandon Ellis
Half-forwards: Noah Anderson, Sam Day, Ben Ainsworth
Forwards: Izak Rankine, Ben King, Josh Corbett
Followers: Jarrod Witts, David Swallow, Touk Miller
Interchange: Jack Bowes, Brayden Fiorini, Sean Lemmens, Sam Flanders
Emergencies: Alex Sexton, Nick Holman, Darcy Macpherson, Caleb Graham

In: Flanders, Fiorini, Corbett

Out: Sharp (injured), Sexton (omitted), Holman (omitted)

New: Sam Flanders (Gippsland Power)

ESSENDON

Backs: Martin Gleeson, Aaron Francis, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher
Half-backs: Jordan Ridley, Mason Redman, Adam Saad
Centre: Tom Cutler, Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish
Half-forwards: Devon Smith, David Zaharakis, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Forwards: Kyle Langford, James Stewart, Will Snelling
Followers: Tom Bellchambers, Dylan Shiel, Andrew McGrath
Interchange: Shaun McKernan, Matt Guelfi, Conor McKenna, Dylan Clarke
Emergencies: Andrew Phillips, Michael Hurley, Brayden Ham, Josh Begley

In: Clarke, Bellchambers, Gleeson

Out: Hurley (managed), Draper (managed), Townsend (concussion)

BOMBER TO WATCH

Dylan Clarke

After breaking through for 11 senior games last season and proving himself as one of the League's best taggers, Dylan Clarke's absence this season has been a talking point among the Essendon faithful.

The fourth-year midfielder finally gets his chance this week, having been one of the most consistent performers in the scratch matches on the Gold Coast.

The Bombers have opted not to use a tagger so far this season, with opposition stars Lachie Neale, Jack Macrae and Stephen Coniglio letting loose in recent weeks.

But in Clarke, who added Patrick Cripps, Jaeger O'Meara, Ben Cunnington and Luke Parker to his list of scalps last season, coach John Worsfold has that option up his sleeve on Wednesday night.

DANGEROUS OPPONENT

Ben King

He may have been playing just his 10th game, but Ben King gave the Bombers some serious headaches in this fixture last season.

The No.6 draft pick was a constant threat, booting four goals in a breakout game as he and fellow tall Sam Day combined for seven.

Leading the Suns for goals (16) and sitting equal 10th in the Coleman Medal, King enters this clash fresh from a three-goal haul against the Saints and will line up against a defence missing key pillars Michael Hurley and Cale Hooker.

Essendon and Gold Coast have played out the second draw of the season in a frantic finish at Metricon Stadium on Wednesday night.

With the Suns trailing by a point and less than two minutes remaining, Ben King, who had just kicked a miraculous goal, took a towering overhead mark but missed his 40m set shot to the right to level the scores.

And then with less than a minute to go, whiz-kid Izak Rankine took a contested mark on the 50m arc, and after taking his full allotment of time, dragged his set shot well wide to the left.

The ball remained in play and two stoppages later, the scores finished 11.7 (73) apiece.

The draw leaves Essendon two points outside the top eight.

The result was another heartbreaker for Gold Coast which lost to St Kilda by four points last start and the Western Bulldogs by five two matches earlier.

Essendon trailed by 18 points three minutes into the last quarter after Lachie Weller kicked his second goal but they finished full of running.

Veteran David Zaharakis kicked two clutch goals midway through the term before limping off with a quadricep injury and Kyle Langford gave his team the lead with a late set shot.

Zach Merrett topped the ball-winners with 31 disposals, while Andrew McGrath had 19 at half-time but was quelled by a Touk Miller tag thereafter to finish with 26.

For the Suns Brandon Ellis, Hugh Greenwood and Weller all finished with 18 touches.

Could Stewart be the answer?
With injuries to main men Joe Daniher and Jake Stringer, the Bombers have been looking for a forward line target, and James Stewart has answered. Playing his third game after a two-year absence, Stewart kicked three goals and looked a constant threat. He beat in-form Sun Sam Collins on the lead twice in the first half and then took a strong mark to convert his third before the final change.

Rankine dazzles yet again
Every week Gold Coast's rising star does something jaw-dropping and Wednesday night was no exception. Despite his late miss, he still offered plenty of highlights. After caressing a goal from 50m early in the second quarter, he unleashed a two-minute burst that had everyone shaking their heads. Rankine roved a forward 50 stoppage but missed the quick kick at goal before seconds later mowing down Adam Saad from behind to force a turnover. He then sharked another forward 50 stoppage yet somehow missed the relatively straightforward snap from 30m. 

Bombers shoot themselves in the foot
Essendon will be cursing its lack of attention to detail. Despite matching or shading the Suns in most statistical categories, the Bombers trailed by 19 at half-time and most of it was their own doing. They casually watched on as David Swallow handballed to a nearby Lachie Weller – a noted long-range specialist - following a mark. Weller kicked the goal. They also inexplicably gave Izak Rankine 15m of space that cost a goal, and on the stroke of half-time conceded a 50m penalty to Jack Bowes for running through the protected zone. Again, a goal.

GOLD COAST      3.1       7.4       9.5 (59)          11.7 (73)
ESSENDON         1.3       4.3       7.5 (47)          11.7 (73)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Weller 2, King 2, Day 2, Ainsworth, Bowes, Fiorini, Greenwood, Rankine
Essendon: Stewart 3, Zaharakis 3, Langford 2, Bellchambers, Cutler, Snelling

BEST
Gold Coast: Weller, Bowes, Ballard, Ellis, Greenwood
Essendon: Ridley, McGrath, Stewart, Merrett, Shiel, Parish

INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Essendon: Zaharakis (quad)