Hurricanes confidence against Highlanders' determination to each build on their table position in Super Rugby Aotearoa will be the test at SKY Stadium in Wellington on Sunday.
The Hurricanes kept themselves in the competition hunt with their win last weekend over the Chiefs while the Highlanders need a win to also be in the hunt.
As with other sides, selections have been made by both sides with rotation in mind as the demands of the home derbies cut into squad depth.
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland said they were not concerned about another calf muscle injury suffered by hooker Dane Coles, who has a history of calf issues.
He was running around, and they knew what the problem was so they were not concerned.
Holland said the pressure of the competition was immense with four weeks of physical play taking its toll. The fact players were still feeling the effects of games midway through the following week had placed more emphasis on recovery.
"Recovery becomes key and what you do in that early part of the week becomes massive to be able to get ready to go to battle again in the weekend," he said.
The Highlanders had lifted their game in the last two or three weeks, their pack had been special and while, on paper, they might not look as strong as other teams, they had been impressive in recent games.
"If we're off our game at all then we'll be hurt at the weekend," he said.
Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger said games with the Hurricanes had been close in recent years without adding to their last win, back in 2015 when the Highlanders won the Super Rugby title.
The issue for them would still be about finishing opportunities against a side who showed a lot of cohesion to beat the Chiefs and who would be confident heading into the game.
"Last week they played tough against a tough Chiefs side that helped them round the collision and helped them set the game up and when they do that well they've got some x-factor players.
"For us, it's just about getting our detail right at the collision. It's an area that's been a confident work-on through the campaign, especially around our attack and securing our ball.
"They've got [Du'Plessis] Kirifi and Ardie Savea, two fetchers who like to get on the ball quickly so it will be interesting to see how that is policed and if we get our detail right we should get some fluency to our attack as well," he said.
"We just want to be better than what we have been in the last couple of weeks. I thought we had been really good in a lot of parts, getting better each week and we've put a lot of work in this week to make sure we are a bit better again.
"We're creating a lot of opportunities and it's just about executing them and making sure take points every time we are down there," he said.
The teams are:
Hurricanes: 1.Ben May, 2.Asafo Aumua, 3.Tyrel Lomax, 4.James Blackwell, 5.Scott Scrafton, 6.Devan Flanders, 7.Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8.Ardie Savea, 9.TJ Perenara (captain), 10.Fletcher Smith, 11.Ben Lam, 12.Ngani Laumape, 13.Vince Aso, 14.Kobus van Wyk, 15.Jordie Barrett.
Substitutes: 16.Ricky Riccitelli, 17.Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18.Alex Fidow, 19.Vaea Fifita, 20.Murphy Taramai, 21.Jamie Booth, 22.Billy Proctor, 23.Wes Goosen.
Highlanders: 1.Ayden Johnstone, 2.Ash Dixon (captain), 3.Siate Tokolahi, 4.Pari Pari Parkinson, 5.Jack Whetton, 6.Shannon Frizell, 7.Dillon Hunt, 8.Marino Mikaele Tu'u, 9.Aaron Smith (captain), 10.Mitch Hunt, 11.Jona Nareki, 12.Patelesio Tomkinson, 13.Rob Thompson, 14.Scott Gregory, 15.Michael Collins.
Substitutes: 16.Liam Coltman, 17.Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18.Jeff Thwaites, 19.Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20.Jesse Parete, 21.Kayne Hammington, 22.Bryn Gatland, 23.Teariki Ben-Nicholas.
Referee: Brendon Pickerill