As top class basketball returns to the University of Essex on Sunday, Essex Leopards' coach Thomas Baker is looking for his team to get back their season back on track.

The Big Cats host Loughborough Riders with a 5pm tip-off, and reduced priced tickets are available through www.leopardsbasketballl.co.uk

"This weekend gives us a chance to focus on getting our season back on track," said Baker..

"After a tough weekend it is important we start picking up some wins and I feel that if we can stay competitive for 40 minutes we have a very good chance of doing that.

"Barking picked up a crucial win against Bradford last weekend and Loughborough continued their strong start to the season by beating Leicester Warriors, so it isn’t going to be easy for us."

The Big Cats will be looking to avenge their 106-86 in October in a game where the home side finished strongly to put an unbalanced look to the scoreline.

As they look to retain their Division One title, the midlands side are fourth in the table with a 7-3 record, and realistically cannot afford many slip-ups in their final 16 games.

It will be the first of successive games at the University of Essex as Riders return next Sunday for the National Cup final against Team Solent Kestrels having beaten Stoke Knights, London United, Leicester Warriors and Hemel Storm on the way to the title game.

Riders have also reached the semi-final of the National Trophy with wins against Warriors and Nottingham Hoods in the group stage, making their loss against neighbours Derby Trailblazers irrelevant.

The Big Cats are also on the revenge trail on Saturday as they travel to Barking Abbey Crusaders, tip-off 4pm.

A strong second half could not prevent the Big Cats starting life at the University of Essex with an 84-77 loss against Barking Abbey Crusaders, in October. The Big Cats erased a 20-point deficit with a strong end to the third period and a good start to the fourth, but they ultimately came up short down the stretch.

Baker's side will want to watch out for Ade Adebayo as October's game saw the youngster hit 35 points in as many minutes including four of his five three-point attempts and 21 straight in the fourth period.

The young Crusaders team are ninth in the table with a 5-7 record and look set to avoid last season's relegation scrap.

Their National Trophy campaign ended quickly with heavy defeats against big-guns Solent and Worthing, while in the National Cup they defeated Swindon before losing at home against Hemel Storm.

Baker is looking to see how his team have improved over the last three months.

He added: "Having started the season playing Barking, I am excited to see how far we have come and I am confident we can put in a great performance against two tough opponents."