BASINGSTOKE Bison’s biggest week of the season so far will see the Herd face three games in the space of five days, with two of them against sides directly above them in the English Premier League table.

The Bison sit fourth in the standings, but they still have second spot, which is currently occupied by the Guildford Flames, in their sights.

The Herd travel to the Spectrum on Wednesday night looking to repeat the victory they had when last in Surrey in their penultimate game of the season against their bitter rivals.

However, before they look to douse the Flames, Basingstoke will hope to extend their home winning streak to seven games when they entertain the Bracknell Bees on Saturday (6.30pm).

Then, on Sunday evening, they travel to face the third-placed Peterborough Phantoms, where a Bison victory would see the sides swap places in the standings.

Looking ahead to a huge week in the Herd’s calendar, Bison player/coach Doug Sheppard said: “These are really important games for us as we are chasing both Guildford and Peterborough.

“We will focus on one game at a time and try not to get ahead of ourselves. We have to make sure we are ready to play for 60 minutes every night. That will give us a chance to get a result in each game.”

Another bumper crowd is expected for the Bracknell Bees’ final visit of the season to the Basingstoke Arena on Saturday (6.30pm).

When the Bees were last in town they were soundly beaten 4-0 and the Herd will be out to complete a clean sweep of home wins over the English Premier League’s basement side.

On paper this looks an easy game, but Bracknell have a good record in local derby games and only lost 4-2 to Guildford last weekend.

Bison player/coach Doug Sheppard is taking nothing for granted and said: “It is important we get the jump on them and don’t let them hang around as they will gain in confidence and it will make life difficult for us.”

On Sunday night (5.30pm), the Herd face their final league game against the Peterborough Phantoms, looking to complete a clean sweep of wins in their building.

However, the Phantoms have won their last seven EPL games on home ice and have also added a new import forward, Donatus Kumelauskas, to their line-up since these sides last met.

It is a big game for the Herd as their Cambridgeshire rivals are just one point above them in the standings, with both teams having played 37 games.

Sheppard said: “They have a very good offence and we need to make sure we do get into a run-and-gun game with them as we will come off second best.”

Completing a trio of big games for the Herd is a trip to second-placed Guildford on Wednesday night (7.30pm).

The Bison broke their seasonal duck against the Flames when these sides last met.

For Guildford, this will be their fourth game in eight days, as last night they travelled to Telford for the second leg of their cup semi-final.

They then have a tough double-header weekend against the Sheffield Steeldogs, before they face the Herd.

Looking ahead to his side’s second local derby in the space of five days, Sheppard said: “Once the weekend is over, we will focus on Guildford.

“Having found a way to win in their building last time, I see no reason why we cannot do it again.”