Melbourne Victory defender Rodrigo Vargas predicts Saturday night's A-League clash with the Central Coast Mariners could get "very ugly".

With the Victory comfortably the competition's top-scoring team and the Mariners boasting a standout defensive record, the match promises a clash of styles.

But Vargas says the key to Melbourne producing six wins in their past seven games has been a renewed focus on backing their attacking flair with the toughness needed to grind out results.

"They're a very tough side to play, we know it's not going to be a pretty game of football," Vargas said on Wednesday.

"But it's another game that we're going to look forward to and do it on our strengths and being able to grind games out.

"There are going to be times when it's going to be very ugly, but we like to win ugly."

Vargas said it was a focus on that mental aspect that had lifted Melbourne to second place, after a slow start to the season, with just one win in their first six games.

He cited Sunday's 2-1 away win over Perth as an example of their ability to win matches in which they did not always hold the upper hand.

"The way in which we've won has been pretty telling for us," he said.

"We know you can't always play pretty and win and at times in Perth we did have to battle and withhold the barrage and we did that and it adds another element to our game."

That said, he is confident a Victory attack which has netted eight goals in the past three rounds can conquer a Mariners defence which has only conceded that many in 13 matches.

"I don't have to mention to you the attacking players that we've got in the side and the havoc they've been causing," Vargas said.

"We're looking forward to Archie (Thompson) and Carlos (Hernandez) and the boys, Mate (Dugandzic), having a good run at the Mariners on the weekend."

Adding motivation will be the memory of the Mariners' opening round 2-0 victory at Etihad Stadium, also the venue of Saturday night's match, when the teams last met.

"We know we've got the best support in the country and we always like to perform and win for them at home," he said.

"So we know they were very disappointed, first game losing 2-0, so we'd like to give something back to them."