Where and when:
Monday May 13, 7.40pm (Melbourne time)
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne.

B: Nathan Wright, Sam Fisher, James Gwilt
HB: Sean Dempster, Dylan Roberton, Jack Newnes
C: Leigh Montagna, Nick Dal Santo, Arryn Siposs
HF: Ahmed Saad, Rhys Stanley, Jarryn Geary
F: David Armitage, Nick Riewoldt, Stephen Milne
Foll: Ben McEvoy, Seb Ross, Jack Steven

Int: Jimmy Webster, Terry Milera, Tom Hickey, Clint Jones

Em: Brodie Murdoch, Farren Ray, Josh Saunders

In: James Gwilt, Terry Milera, Jimmy Webster, Tom Hickey
Out: Justin Koschitzke (Suspension), Sam Gilbert (Knee), Brodie Murdoch (Omitted), Josh Saunders (Omitted)

Overview:
Carlton had a difficult first three rounds, performing admirably but ultimately losing to Richmond, Collingwood and Geelong. All these losses were hard-fought, and on all three occasions both the Blues and their opponent booted 100 points or more.

Contrastingly, no team has kicked over 12 goals against Carlton since round three, demonstrating Mick Malthouse’s game-plan is slowly coming together for the Blues.

St Kilda may have won two fewer games than the Blues, but in the last fortnight have shown that its desire and work-rate remain excellent. The Saints weren’t far away from pinching the four points against Sydney in Wellington, while Collingwood were stretched up until halfway through the final term last Friday.

The only match that St Kilda has booted over 13 goals this year was in the victory over GWS. While Nick Riewoldt is in spectacular form, for the Saints to defeat the Blues they require a variety of avenues to goal aside from Riewoldt and a sprinkling of others.

Arryn Siposs had five scoring shots last week, while Stephen Milne has kicked more goals against Carlton than against any other team. Both men loom as dangerous prospects for the Carlton defenders on Monday night should they find space in the forward half.

On the other hand, Carlton’s forward structure with Eddie Betts, Chris Yarran and Jeff Garlett has become highly successful in the last month. Without the suspended Jarrad Waite or the injured Matthew Kreuzer, the Blues rely heavily on this trio of goal-kicking smalls and midfielder Marc Murphy, who has booted at least one goal in all but one match in 2013.

St Kilda will miss the injured Lenny Hayes, but his absence will present another opportunity for a young midfielder to step in to the engine room as Jack Steven, Jack Newnes, Seb Ross and David Armitage have done in recent times.

Confronting the St Kilda midfield is an exceptional Carlton on-ball brigade. Bryce Gibbs and Chris Judd are each averaging 22 disposals per game this year, while Brock Mclean and Heath Scotland are mature bodies capable of collecting 30+ disposals on their day.

Carlton will be committed to winning its fourth consecutive game, while St Kilda will carry confidence from its past two performances. 

Stat focus:

• Up until last weekend, Carlton had kicked the first goal in every game so far this season.
• David Armitage has laid 27 tackles this year, more than any other St Kilda player.
• St Kilda has won 16 of its last 18 clashes against Carlton
• The last time these two teams met, Brock Mclean amassed a career-high 39 disposals.
• Carlton’s Jeff Garlett has had nine goal assists this season, ranked fourth in the AFL.
• This is the fourth time St Kilda will play Carlton on a Monday night.

Injury list:

St Kilda:
Daniel Markworth (ACL) – Season
Sam Gilbert (knee) – 8-12 weeks
Lenny Hayes (calf) – 2-4 weeks
Adam Schneider (hamstring) - 1-3 weeks

Carlton:
Marcus Davies (ankle) – TBA
Bryce Gibbs (hamstring) – available
Nick Graham (knee) – 4 weeks
Matthew Kreuzer (thumb) – 1 week
Andrew McInnes (ACL) – 4 weeks
Andrew Carrazzo (corked calf) - test

Last week:
St Kilda 11.11 (77) defeated by Collingwood 15.13 (103)
Melbourne 8.12 (60) defeated by Carlton 18.13 (121)

What they say:(Zach Tuohy on Monday):
We know where we stand. We are still 3-3, we’re not running away with it. We still have a lot of room for improvement but it’s great to have a few wins on the board. With a new coach coming in, it always does take time [to get used to the game plan]. But that might be a little bit of a cop-out for players not playing the way they should play. I think we are starting to gel more as a team now and have more confidence in ourselves that we can execute the plan.

What we say (Scott Watters on Wednesday):
Our Monday night game we certainly enjoyed last year and again the opportunity to play on a slightly bigger stage is fantastic for our group … We’d like to become more efficient [with our ball use] and capitalise on our opportunities [this week].

Running hot:

St Kilda: Nick Riewoldt
St Kilda’s skipper has been unstoppable this season, booting 18 goals and taking more marks and contested marks than any other player in the AFL. The last time Riewoldt played against the Blues, Lachie Henderson kept the Saints spearhead to one goal, 12 disposals and seven marks.

Carlton: Marc Murphy
The 25-year-old Blues skipper is enjoying another consistent season in the Carlton midfield. Last week against the Demons, Murphy collected 28 possessions and registered three goals in a best afield display. Limiting his influence in the centre of the ground is one thing, but the Saints cannot afford to allow the former number one draft pick to hurt them on the scoreboard as he has done in the past.

Watch out for:

St Kilda: Arryn Siposs
The 20-year-old is capable of playing as a rebounding defender and a lead-up forward. Siposs had five scoring shots last Friday against Collingwood, and looked dangerous from as far out as centre-half-forward with his booming right foot. This will be the third time he played the Blues, having debuted against them in round seven, 2011.

Carlton: Jeff Garlett
The lightly built livewire has booted four goals in each of his last two AFL games, and is applying significant defensive pressure in the forward half, averaging five tackles per match in the last five weeks. When the Blues and Saints last met, Jarryn Geary held Garlett to one goal and 13 disposals.
Geary nullified Steele Sidebottom’s influence last week, and it’s imperative he applies the same attention to Garlett should he be assigned the role on Monday evening.

Last time they met:
Round 23, 2012 at Etihad Stadium
Attendance: 31,393
Carlton 12.19 (91) defeated by St Kilda 16.10 (106)
Disposals: McLean (39), Gram (26)
Goals: Waite (5), Milera (3)
Significance: Brett Ratten’s last game as Carlton coach

You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32