FACING Geelong at any time is tough, but facing them after two losses shapes as an even mightier task for the Lions.

The Cats have slipped to second place behind Collingwood after successive losses to Essendon and West Coast and are desperate to right the ship on Sunday at the Gabba.

While they lose ruckman Brad Ottens to suspension, they regain midfielder Joel Selwood who returns after a four-week suspension he incurred after striking Hawthorn's Brent Guerra in round 12.

The Lions are still battling in 15th place with a 3-12 record and are coming off a 42-point loss against Hawthorn where they were competitive for most of the day before fading late.

Good news for the Lions is that Mitch Clark is a chance of returning after three weeks on the sideline with an injured ankle. He just needs to get through the team's main training session on Thursday to be considered.

Forward Scout

The Club: Geelong Cats

2011 so far: After saying goodbye to coach Mark Thompson and superstar Gary Ablett in the off-season, the Cats were being tipped to slide from premiership fancies to a team settling somewhere in the middle of the eight. But with new coach Chris Scott at the helm, they have taken all before them. After winning their first 13 matches, Geelong has slipped up in the past fortnight with two losses but is nestled nicely into second spot and is all-but assured of a double chance come finals time.

The Coach: What a remarkable first season Chris Scott has had. Not only has he been able to keep the Cats juggernaut rolling, he's been able to rest key personnel (not one player has played every match this season) as well as introduce a core of exciting youngsters like Nathan Vardy and Allen Christensen. As a Lions premiership player, Scott was a noted hard man, and it's a trait his players have happily taken on to the field in his first season.

The Star: After four weeks on the sideline, Joel Selwood will be itching to play on Sunday. With Ablett's departure in the off-season, each Cat midfielder had to take on extra responsibility and the 23-year-old has done just that. He was the Cats' best and fairest last season but had taken his game to another level before being suspended. The two-time All Australian is universally regarded as one of the most courageous players in the league and is the equal of anyone for his physical attack on the ball.

The Sleeper: Steve Johnson gives most teams headaches in defence and the Lions are no exception. When he came to the Gabba in 2010 he kicked a lazy six goals as the Lions struggled to find a suitable match-up. In fact, his 33 career goals against the Lions is the most he's kicked against any one club. With a combination of strength and agility he is a tough assignment for anyone. Jed Adcock looks a good match-up though.

The Young Gun: After starting his career with three games to finish last season, Daniel Menzel has entrenched himself in Geelong's outfit in 2011. The small forward has a good set of hands and is prepared to get his own ball. He has kicked 20 goals in 14 games this season including a career high four against St Kilda in round 13.

Strengths: It's been their trademark for the past five years, and Geelong is still one of the hardest, most ruthless teams in the competition around the ball. They are a mature team with plenty of strong bodies (Chapman, Ling, Corey, Selwood) who are hard to shift off the ball. Their backline has also made an art out of shutting down and then running off opponents and stopping Matthew Scarlett's influence is a huge key for the Lions.

Weaknesses: Hard to say there's many, if any, weaknesses with the Cats, you just have to do everything they do a little better. If you're being ultra picky they don't have a lot of outside speed (Varcoe and Wojcinski aside), so if you spread the ball quickly, like Essendon and West Coast did, you might be able to catch them out. That's a big 'if' and a big 'might' though.

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mike_whiting