CARLTON will face one of its fiercest rivals in Essendon when the two sides line-up on Sunday at the MCG.

The history of this traditional clash is not lost on senior coach Brendon Bolton, who hopes to harness the rivalry to get his Blues their second win.

Bolton spoke on Carlton’s Round 11 opponent when fronting media on Friday morning.

“It’s funny human behaviour, when you talk about rivalry. People build that up and emotion can take over,” Bolton said.

“It’s hard to put a finger on what that is, but this game for all of us – supporters, players, coaches – there’s emotion." 

Bolton previewed the traditional grudge match and highlighted what we can expect from the young Blues outfit set to face the Bombers.

Of these two sides 247 meetings, the Blues maintain the upperhand with seven more wins than the Bombers.

The Bombers have not been without their own struggles so far this year, and will be eager to return to the winner’s list. Known for their pace, and quick rebound off the backline, the Blues will face a tough ask attempting to slow down the speedy opposition. 

“When we get it [the ball] in time and space you can see what we can do,” he said.

“But teams are trying to take that off you. That’s always the balance, being able to get those opportunities in offence and teams trying to stop you.”

“But we also need to make sure we don’t give them time and space, they [Essendon] rebound the ball well from forward 50.”

While the Blues will head into the game without the experience of Simpson, Thomas and McGovern, Bolton remains confident in the young talent on display.

Essendon will also take its own injuries into Sunday’s clash, with Jake Stringer and Dylan Shiel joining Joe Daniher, Orazio Fantasia and Devon Smith on the sideline.

“We know we’re lacking a little bit of experience – Jones is out, Murphy is out, Thomas, Docherty, Simpson,” he said.

“But the opposition have got a few out as well, so it will be a great showcase of our talent and we’re really looking forward to it against arch rivals.”

After another close loss last week, Bolton remains certain that it’s only a matter of time before the Blues are able to turn these narrow losses into wins, and sees the weekend as the perfect opportunity to turn things around.

“We’ve had a couple of games where it’s been under two goals and six within twenty points. So eight games we’re right in the hunt, we’ve just got to be able to put those games away,” he said.

“We want the win, there’s no doubt about that but we can’t be distracted by that. We’ve got to talk about what we need to improve on.”