BASINGSTOKE Bison player/coach Doug Sheppard and his troops are ready for a battle royal this weekend as they take on the top two in the English Premier League.

The Herd are currently third in the standings and face leaders Telford Tigers at home on Saturday night (face-off 6.30pm).

They then travel to second-placed Peterborough Phantoms on Sunday (face-off 5.30pm).

The Bison will be out to repeat their early season victory over the Tigers, one of only three losses the Tigers have suffered this season.

The Herd are expected to be at full strength for the visit of Telford, with Kurt Reynolds and Michael Wales, who missed both games last weekend, expected to be in the line-up.

Young British defenceman Matt Selby made a welcome return last Sunday and, unless he has a reaction to his injury, he will ice again this weekend.

Another blue liner, Ricky Skene, who signed last week, now has two games under his belt and this will give the Bison the luxury of having seven defencemen.

And Sheppard knows they will need them, as Telford have a high-powered offence.

“We will have to defend like a five man unit against Telford. We have to make sure we do not give them anything as they will punish us otherwise,” he said.

“These are the games you look forward to as a player and I hope the fans will be out in force to cheer us on.”

On Sunday, the Bison travel to Peterborough looking for their third win of the season over their Cambridgeshire rivals. They are currently two points behind the Phantoms in the standings, with five games in hand.

They won on their last visit there and so far both games have been penalty filled encounters.

Sheppard said: “It is always a tough place to go and get a result, but hopefully we can do it again.”