The Socceroos coach has probably made up his mind about all but a handful of spots in the 23-man squad for the tournament, which Australia hosts for the first time.

But for the likes of Aaron Mooy, Terry Antonis and Nathan Burns this pre-Christmas round could be critical.

Produce a season-best performance, and it might just tip the scales your way. But the opposite also holds true. An error-strewn effort or simply a less-than-par performance could see a line put through your name.

Postecoglou has said that the Asian Cup is a tournament Australia is desperate to win, but that he may also use it to further the experience of some younger, fringe players who he believes will have a role to play in the Socceroos set-up when the qualification campaign for Russia 2018 kicks off in the middle of next year.

That might mean a teenager like Perth Glory's forward Danny De Silva is a potential inclusion, although the odds are against unless the coach wants a player of such youth to be part of the party simply to speed up his development in a competitive tournament such as the Asian Cup.

More likely contenders involved in this weekend's fixtures are the likes of Melbourne City midfielder Mooy, his Sydney FC counterpart Antonis and Wellington Phoenix forward-cum-midfielder Burns.

Mooy has been a standout in what has been a rather gloomy season so far for the disappointing Melbourne City, a club about which so much – with hindsight unrealistically –  was expected this season.

The former Western Sydney Wanderers man has been a glaring exception to the City rule for most of this campaign.

With his high work rate, good skill set and relentless drive forward, Mooy has tried to spark his team at every opportunity. He can hit a long pass and has a raking shot from distance, a technique he displayed to great effect in an earlier Socceroos appearance in the East Asian Cup in July 2013 when he struck a magnificent long-range drive to bring Australia back on level terms with China in a game the team eventually lost 4-3.

Postecoglou brought Mooy into the Socceroo squad for the recent friendly loss to Japan, and he got a couple of minutes' game time towards the end.

Antonis was another called up for that friendly in Osaka but missed out after being injured in a car accident en route to the airport.

He has been a crucial part of the Sky Blue side that has begun the season so competitively, having played in nine of the 10 fixtures (missing only the first game against Melbourne Victory, which was in the week of his accident).

Such is Antonis' importance that he has played every minute of every game, not having been substituted. His commitment to the cause cannot be questioned – even after being elbowed above the eye by Mark Milligan in last weekend's 3-3 draw with Victory, receiving a wound that required 10 stitches, Antonis returned to the field for the second half with blurred vision and played to the final whistle.

Nathan Burns has been out of the international picture for several years now. His career disappeared into a twilight zone in Greece and South Korea for six years after he left Adelaide in 2008. He had burst onto the scene there as a teenager, leaving to join AEK of Athens, and eventually moving on to Incheon in 2012.

A spell with the Newcastle Jets during the past A-League season put him back on the radar, and he has been in inspired form in the 2014-15 season since joining Wellington Phoenix.

Burns has played all 10 games for the Phoenix, who are firmly entrenched in the league's top five, and has scored eight goals as well as providing two assists.

He has looked sharp and enthusiastic and, at 26, is a good age and in the right frame of mind to try to show the world that he can become the international player that everyone thought he would when he made his debut as a 19-year-old against Singapore in a friendly in 2007.

The above trio are likely to be vying with a number of overseas players such as Austria-based James Holland, Swiss-based Oliver Bozanic and Italian-based Josh Brillante✓(all midfielders) for a berth in the squad, while Western Sydney Wanderers duo Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Tomi Juric, a centre-back and centre forward respectively, will hope they have done enough to force themselves into contention earlier as the Wanderers do not play this weekend.

Bozanic and Holland were both in the World Cup squad – the former started the final game against Spain – while Brillante missed out a spot in Brazil but was in the squad for the recent friendly against Japan. Topor-Stanley was also in the party for the match in Osaka but didn't play.

Postecoglou announced a provisional 46-man squad earlier this month and will announce the final 23 next Tuesday.