Wellington Phoenix will be without captain Andrew Durante for Saturday night's clash with Newcastle Jets.

The star centre-half will miss the Westpac Stadium fixture against his former club due to suspension after accruing five yellow cards during the first half of the season and fellow defender Ben Sigmund admits he will be a big loss as the defence will again have to restructured.

"It certainly makes a difference when you've got the same team out there week in week out consistently performing," he said.

"You can't beat games together and the organisation and the communication and all those bits and pieces that go with it.

"You can't coach (that instinct of knowing where your team-mate is). You can't do anything apart from play. It has been tough but you still can't use that as an excuse."

The Phoenix need a win to really push their finals case forward but take on a Jets outfit in top form, unbeaten in their last seven and on a streak of three wins in a row.