Geelong coach Mark Thompson is wary of the Goodes factor and a late finals push by Sydney heading into Saturday's clash with his faltering side at ANZ Stadium.

Assured of second spot, the Cats have however lost three of their past six games and will be looking for a more convincing performance after last week's defeat by Carlton.

The Swans are down in 10th spot but only one win off eighth, after winning two of their past three matches and losing by one point against unbeaten St Kilda.

After running the Saints so close and routing Richmond last week, the Swans are primed for another big effort to mark the 250th game of dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes.

"You hope that we can just continue that momentum and the best thing we've been able to do the last couple of weeks is to have that effort and bring that pressure," Goodes told AAP.

"If we can bring that tomorrow night and really have a good impact on the game through our pressure, hopefully it will be a really good finish to the season for us."

While the Swans have talked down their prospects for making the finals given their tough run home against Geelong, Collingwood and Brisbane, Thompson believed a top-eight spot and the 250-game milestone for Goodes would prove significant spurs for Sydney.

They've got their spirit back and they are playing some great footy and the way it has panned out, there's an opening there for them to play in the finals," Thompson told reporters this week.

"Goodes is playing 250 games which always lifts the group when someone reaches a milestone like that."

Adding to Geelong's concerns, Sydney's 300-game forward Michael O'Loughlin said on Friday the Swans were "really pumped up" for Goodes' milestone match.

Goodes has added another dimension to Sydney's attack in recent weeks since being moved forward.

However, Geelong's defence has been fortified by the return from injury of key defenders Matthew Scarlett and Harry Taylor.

Ruckman Mark Blake and utility David Johnson have also been added to the Cats line up.

Sydney has made just the one change with veteran fullback Leo Barry returning to play his first game of the season, though he comes in at the expense of injured midfielder Jarrad McVeigh.

Geelong has played two games at ANZ Stadium for a win and a loss.

Thompson said the stadium's ground was like "concrete" last year, but expected a kinder surface on Saturday.

He said Geelong had received "a lot of assurances" about the surface.

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