Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser is expected to take his place for the Magpies when they meet Geelong at the MCG tomorrow night.

Fraser missed last Friday night's win over St Kilda with a knee injury.

But he trained today and coach Mick Malthouse said he would be named and, barring any setbacks tomorrow, the ruckman would be in the side.

"Josh is playing right now and really that's the way it is in football, you pick the side on your training and we have until tomorrow to work through it," Malthouse said.

"I wouldn't have named him if I didn't think he'd play.

"He'll go into the 22 tonight and I'm not going to play games like that. If a bloke is comprehensively not going to play he won't be named ... he'll be named and we'll weigh that up tomorrow morning."

Meanwhile, Malthouse said playing against the reigning premiers would be a good gauge of how individuals in his side stood up to the most intense pressure.

"History is a wonderful tool to use and sometimes you go back through history and find the same players play very well against sides that everyone expects them to play well against," he said.

"And some players through history have proven that they play well against top sides or on the big occasion.

"So I don't think there's any escaping the fact that I'd like to think a player who is challenged by the best side can perform."

AAP