Severn Stars vs Saracens Mavericks live on Sky Sports Mix
Coverage of the final game of Round Eight gets underway at 6.45pm with centre pass at 7pm
Tuesday 5 March 2019 13:19, UK
Saracens Mavericks travel to the University of Worcester to face Severn Stars on Monday night looking to close the gap on Vitality Superleague leaders Wasps.
The champions stretched their lead at the top of the table to six points with victory over Strathclyde Sirens on Saturday evening and a third successive win for Mavericks will keep them within touching distance of the back-to-back champions.
With Thunder losing on Friday night, Mavericks also get the chance to put some daylight between themselves and the chasing pack as they chase a return to the Superleague semi-finals but Stars have proved a tough nut to crack despite just a couple of victories this season.
Stars beat Sirens last weekend for their first victory since Round Three and with home advantage they will look to put the brakes on the in-form Mavericks who have racked up more than 65 goals in each of their last two matches.
Stars' toughest task is likely to be keeping Mavericks' attacking end under control, Saracens have scored at least 60 goals in four of their seven matches so far this season and their only defeats have come against Wasps and Thunder.
In contrast Stars have only twice scored more than 50, but on both occasions they were able to come away with the win against Celtic Dragons and Strathclyde Sirens.
Mavs, who took advantage of their Saturday off to go and watch Saracens in rugby action, have won their last two after being edged out by Wasps in Round Five and both teams should have a fully fit squad to choose from with no reported injury concerns.
In their own words.....
Sam Cook, Severn Stars
"There is no room for mistakes against a team with so much experience. In defence we will need to keep to our structures, set up early and put pressure on every pass they receive and deliver to force mistakes and promote turnovers.
"I'm expecting lots of flare from Mavericks in their attacking unit especially from the likes of Kadeen Corbin - their attacking unit are very experienced and their strength lies in their entire team. We know that Mavericks are a completely different team to Sirens and so we are prepared and know what to expect."
George Fisher, Saracens Mavericks
"There's lots of talk about Saracens Mavericks at the moment as we have probably been exceeding some people's expectations.
"But we're just sticking in our team bubble knowing that we've still got a way to go. We're a pretty chilled-out squad and I think that helps keep us grounded and we're able to have honest conversations with each other."
Superleague is back on your Sky Sports screen on Monday, March 4 when Severn Stars host Saracens Mavericks in the final game of Round Eight - join us on Sky Sports Mix & Action from 6.45pm
