Essendon will welcome back Orazio Fantasia for its round eight match against Sydney. 

Fantasia missed the previous two games due to illness but is set to return in the Friday night clash at the SCG.

Midfielder David Zaharakis said Fantasia would be a welcome inclusion.

“The whole side is better when Orazio is playing. He is kind of a barometer for us. He’s so dynamic up forward that he just causes different match-ups for opposition teams,” Zaharakis told RSN on Thursday. 

“I think that our whole side plays a lot better with him in it because he’s so dynamic - he can play on the wing, he can play forward, he can play in the midfield and he’s so quick and explosive that, as I said, teams have to put a lot of work into him.”

The Bombers will head into the match with three wins and four losses, after a 32-point defeat to Geelong in the Powercor Country Festival game. 

Zaharakis said the side was hoping to respond against the Swans.

“The confidence in the group hasn’t wavered, we know the brand of football we want to play, it’s just about producing that from a week-to-week basis,” he said.

“I think against Geelong we took a step back. They’re a class outfit, no mistaking that, but I think we didn’t play to the level that we played in the last four weeks and I think that was disappointing. 

“Hopefully we produce a good response tomorrow night - which I’m sure will happen.”

Essendon and Sydney will go head-to-head at the SCG from 7:50pm on Friday night.