Sky Live: Sirens meet Lightning and Pulse face Thunder on Saturday in Big Easter Weekend
Coverage from Emirates Arena, Glasgow gets under way at 1.45pm with Strathclyde Sirens vs Loughborough Lightning before London Pulse face Manchester Thunder
Saturday 20 April 2019 19:11, UK
Strathclyde Sirens' meeting with Loughborough Lightning and London Pulse's encounter with Manchester Thunder kick-start the Vitality Netball Superleague's Big Easter Weekend on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
The Easter weekend sees all 10 Superleague teams taking to court across two venues - the Emirates Arena in Glasgow and the Ricoh Arena in Coventry - with Rounds 15 and 16 being played out over the two days.
Four matches will be live on Sky Sports - on Saturday live coverage will come from Glasgow before the spotlight turns on Coventry on Sunday afternoon.
With 14 rounds played, the top of the Superleague table remains as tightly contested as ever and the competition is continuing its roller-coaster nature.
Every round, teams at the bottom of the table are disrupting those at the top and the joy is that no-one fully knows what's going to happen next! For now, let's dive into the detail of Saturday's order of play...
Strathclyde Sirens vs Loughborough Lightning - Emirates Arena, Glasgow, live on Sky Sports Mix and Arena from 1.45pm
Sara Bayman's Loughborough Lightning will be heading to Scotland with a focused look in their eyes and will be fiercely determined to end a run of two successive losses.
In Round 14 they found themselves 49-42 down going into the final quarter against Team Bath but showed significant resilience to bring it back to 51-51 and then 53-53 with five minutes to go. However, their opponents made the final decisive moves and the three match points were lost.
Lightning's hosts Sirens suffered a 10-goal loss to Dragons but will be boosted by hosting this Big Easter Weekend event and are relishing the prospect of their matches - the second of them against London Pulse on Sunday.
"They are two very winnable games for us," mid-courter Gia Abernethy told Sky Sports.
"We've had good performances building in and it's about time that we get a win, so we're going to be doing everything possible individually and as a team to get the points."
On paper, Lightning have too much experience for Sirens to handle, as their 60-49 victory in Round Four showed. But predictions like that, at this point, are dangerous.
Both sides must start at 100mph, Lightning must not underestimate their hosts and both must see where the occasion takes them.
London Pulse vs Manchester Thunder - Emirates Arena, Glasgow, live on Sky Sports Mix and Arena from 3.45pm
Round 13 saw London Pulse disrupt the apple cart with their 62-59 victory over Mavs at the Copper Box Arena and they came close to backing that up against Storm last weekend - only losing by three.
The two matches signal that they're starting to build their belief and the sight of Ama Agbeze's name in their starting seven adds further confidence.
Thunder's three-goal loss to Severn Stars (at home) shocked the league in the last round and their director of netball Karen Greig admitted that it was "definitely not a good day at the office" for them.
Rarely do Thunder put two off-colour performances together - instead their bounce back is usually a hefty one. As an example, after their Round Six loss to Lightning they put 83 goals on the board against Dragons!
Pulse must be ready for Thunder's reaction, they will have to hit their straps for a full 60 and get in the heads of their opponents.
On the flip side, Thunder need to rediscover the flow and fluidity that's worked so well for them thus far and nip any chance of another upset in the bud.
Wasps Netball vs Surrey Storm - Ricoh Arena, Coventry at 5pm
On Monday night, Wasps impressed on the road against Mavs and now Storm and Celtic Dragons stand in the way of them delivering three victories in the space of a week.
In Milton Keynes, head coach Mel Mansfield highlighted the strength of their defence, their circle defence in particular, and that will be required on Saturday with Sigi Burger flying for Storm.
"We played a really smart game and adapted well to the changes Mavericks made in their attack," said Mansfield after their Round 14 victory.
"Fran Williams and Hannah Knights were excellent for us. They were aggressive and were really brave, forcing a lot of turnovers.
"We're in a good position now, being joint-top on points at this stage of the season."
In Round 14, Mikki Austin's side navigated their way past a determined Pulse and they'll want to have a real crack at the defending champions.
Storm have been building strongly and are a very different proposition to the side that lost 70-47 to Wasps 10 rounds ago.
They have confidence in all facets of their game, Burger is providing a pivotal focal point for them in their circle while their rapid work through the mid-court is proving tough for teams to contend with.
Severn Stars vs Team Bath - Ricoh Arena, Coventry at 6pm
Severn Stars arrive in Coventry with three successive victories under their belt, their latest against Thunder.
The side that Sky Sports expert Tamsin Greenway has labelled as 'dangerous' will be eager to take another big scalp this weekend.
Sam Cook and Jodi-Ann Ward continue to power them from the back, while Georgia Rowe's shooting accuracy fuels their work up front. Team Bath have assets of their own in those areas too, though.
Eboni Usoro-Brown and Summer Artman pack a punch at GD and GK while Sophie Drakeford-Lewis has been one of the most consistent performers all season in their attacking end. As for Serena Guthrie in their mid-court - we all know what she can do too!
This should be a cracking contest as Team Bath have their eyes fixed on the top four, while Stars will be fighting tooth and nail for one of the remaining Fast5 All Stars places.
Saracens Mavericks vs Celtic Dragons - Ricoh Arena, Coventry at 7pm
On Monday night, Saracens Mavericks pushed and pushed against Wasps, but didn't have enough to bring it home and the loss was their third in a row.
They've not lost touch with the top four though, as Lightning are still just three points above them. Mavs are having to work without the dynamic Gabby Marshall but have the firepower within their ranks to turn this recent dip around.
Dragons' Kyra Jones said that their Round 14 victory over Sirens "wasn't pretty" but they ground out the result anyway.
Once again there should be some superb head-to-heads within this contest. The two circles come straight to mind with Razia Quashie and Chelsea Lewis duelling at one end while at the other, George Fisher will be competing against Jamaican international Stacian Facey.
As could be the case with a number of other meetings across the Easter weekend, this could be much tighter than the duo's first encounter earlier in the season. On that day Mavs won by 22 goals in Cardiff but such a margin of victory (either way) may not be the case this time around.
Watch the Vitality Netball Superleague's Big Easter Weekend on Sky Sports with four live games across the two days. From 1.45pm on Saturday we have Sirens vs Lightning followed by Pulse vs Thunder and then from 3.45pm on Sunday, it's Storm vs Stars and Bath vs Mavericks.
