Make or break weekend for Mersey

The first and second of three head-to-heads are up for grabs this weekend for Mersey Tigers as they look to gain control of their play-off destiny.

An agonising defeat at Milton Keynes in front of the SKY TV cameras last Sunday has left them with a lot to do to reach the top eight, although they are only two wins behind both Guildford and MK.

It is the Heat that are in town this Friday in the first of three consecutive games against play-off rivals, before Mersey travel to local rivals Cheshire on Sunday for another crucial game.

It’s Guildford’s second trip to Knowsley this season, and they went away 82-76 winners back in December, in what was then their first win of the season.

Since then, they have won seven of 14 league games to put them in the play-off places, although they did lose to the Tigers in the reverse fixture in February.

Cheshire Jets find themselves level on points with the Tigers, but they do have two games in hand, so a win on Sunday is the only option for Tony Garbelotto’s men.

Then next Friday, he takes his team to Sheffield, where they will also have the chance to gain the head to head in the league ladder.

The Tigers went down 99-82 to the Sharks last Friday, just a week after beating them 79-71 in Knowsley.