CARLTON coach Brett Ratten doesn't believe his team is necessarily catching Geelong at a good time, despite the Cats' close shaves in the last fortnight and their two losses since round 14.

Instead of acknowledging any vulnerability, Ratten instead said the second-placed Cats still had the depth and talent to be revered by their opponents.

Carlton hosts Geelong at the MCG on Friday night, desperate for an upset as the club edges closer to securing a finals berth.

"They’ve beaten Adelaide who are in red-hot form," Ratten said.

"To find a way to win, and to give Hawthorn five goals or such and to peg them back, I suppose it shows the character of their group and just how tough and hard they are to beat. [They’ve got] that never-say-die attitude."

Geelong has had to cope with a raft of injuries this season and added another on Tuesday with news that premiership forward Paul Chapman had strained his hamstring.

Key defenders Matthew Scarlett and Harry Taylor look set to miss a second week but Ratten said the Cats were strong enough to cover their absence.

"Whether they play a (Andrew) Mackie at full-back or a (Darren) Milburn at full-back, I suppose the depth of their list and the quality of players they’ve got at their disposal is just amazing and they’ve got talent everywhere," he said.

Geelong has had the wood on Carlton in recent meetings but Ratten sees the fright his young side gave the Cats in the NAB Cup semi-final will give it confidence ahead of Friday night's game.

"I think we take a little bit of encouragement from the NAB Cup performance of some of our younger players to do a job," he said.

"You know Geelong were, I suppose in that game, in a vulnerable spot because maybe they had nothing to gain from it and we had so much to gain from young kids playing on premiership players and gaining experience.

"[But] I think whatever happens from the game we’ll get another valuable lesson with our step forward and growth as a team."

Ratten suggested his side would need to restrict Geelong's midfield brigade in order to cause a boilover.

"It might be how much footy we can get into our hands, I suppose," Ratten said.

"They always get 400-plus possessions, so maybe if we can reduce that and have the ball in our hands a little bit more that might be our window of opportunity.

"So that might be the tale of the whole game."