Jackson limped off the pitch earlier this week and there is concern that he might be facing a number of games on the sidelines.

The towering 25-year-old missed the second half of last season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament playing against Wellington Phoenix in round 16, an injury that necessitated a full knee reconstruction.

His absence on Sunday could be offset by the expected availability of experienced defenders Jason Hoffman and Johnny Koutroumbis.

Koutroumbis is yet to feature in this campaign after a pre-season ankle problem, while Hoffman missed last week's 2-1 loss to Western Sydney after suffering a calf injury in the season-opener against Central Coast.

Boasting almost 300 A-League games between them, Hoffman and Koutroumbis are expected to be welcomed back by coach Craig Deans, providing they suffer no late mishaps during Saturday's final training session.

The Jets are last on the ladder after their consecutive losses, but Deans has reminded them this week that with an ounce of luck they could have drawn both games.

"I believe we're still confident going into games," young attacker Ramy Najjarine said.

"We're still feeding off each other. We're still growing as a team, and I believe we will be successful this season."

Macarthur, in their first A-League campaign, have started strongly with a win against Wanderers, a loss to Central Coast and a draw against Wellington, to sit third on the ladder.

"They've got a lot of big names there, and they've been playing well, so it will be a good game," Najjarine said.

Meanwhile, the Jets are close to signing another two players after the club's change of ownership 12 days ago.

Young Socceroos midfielder Lukas Prso has been in quarantine after arriving from Croatia and is expected to start training with his new teammates next week.

Newcastle are also reportedly hoping to sign Indonesian midfielder Syahrian Abimanyu and Kosovo international Liridon Krasniqi on loan from Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim.

It is understood, however, the proposed deals have been complicated by visa and border-control issues.

Syahrian, 21, has represented Indonesia's under-23s, while 29-year-old Krasniqi has played three internationals for Kosovo.

In other news, the Jets have added experienced Ron Smith, a former Football Federation Australia technical director, to the advisory panel who will choose the club's next coach.

Former Socceroos skipper Alex Tobin, Newcastle's executive chairman Shane Mattiske, and Jets officials Joel Griffiths and Lawrie McKinna are also on the panel.