Leicester Riders take on Sheffield Sharks tonight (7.30) in the unusual position of having lost consecutive home games.

It is only the eighth time since Rob Paternostro took over in 2008 that Jelson Homes DMU-backed Riders have lost back-to-back home games, and three of those came in the first few months of his reign.

Riders have lost three in a row at John Sandford only once under Paternostro and it is not something he is keen on repeating.

"It's strange for us, over the last few years we've been very strong at home so it was a strange feeling to lose two at home," he said.

"I know the guys are anxious to get back out there and put on a better performance. Last Saturday in the second half I thought Glasgow played well, but we could have played better than we did."

Sheffield are only four points behind Riders in the table but they have suffered seven defeats against Riders' three.

Paternostro is, therefore, keen not to give any more ground to the chasing pack, having lost to the fifth-placed Rocks last weekend.

"It is interesting how the league is shaping up right now," said Paternostro.

"There is a considerable gap between the top four and the rest. For us it is good because, if we can put ourselves in that top group for most of the season, we'll be in good shape.

"Sheffield are in that chasing pack and I'm sure they'll be looking to close that gap. Even though there are gaps in the table, there are still a lot of games that are pretty even on the night.

"Looking at some of the results, you see teams in the bottom three competing very well with teams in the top three for example."

The Sharks have a talented squad, but they have had difficulties putting their best team on the court every week.

Justin Dobbins and Jimmy Langhurst have missed games in recent weeks and now former Rider Nate Reinking is sidelined with a knee injury.

Dobbins caused Riders all sorts of problems in the sides' first meeting, scoring 25 first-half points, before Leicester ran out 99-94 victors.

Paternostro said:"I've seen them a lot this season and, when they have things going in the right direction they are one of the best teams in the league.

"For whatever reason – injuries and visa problems – they haven't been able to consistently put the whole team on the floor.

"Dobbins' performance is fresh in our minds, he was explosive in our last game. We were concerned with their three-point shot because that is a weapon for them, but credit to Dobbins, he had a great game.

"We're hoping we can keep Brett (Royster) out of foul trouble this time, we felt some of those calls were unfortunate, so having him on the floor along with Barry (Lamble) gives us a powerful frontline."

Riders: Hardy, Lamble, Wierzbicki, Rundles, Anderson, Sherlock, Williams, Daley, Sullivan, Royster, Haggith, Washington.

Sharks: Atkins, Anderson, Langhurst, Reinking, Tuck, Babalola, Lyons, Sing, Gachette, Dobbins.