The Lions seek their third consecutive win when they host bottom-feeders the Cobras at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Friday. 

The defending champions, after losing to the Dolphins and the Titans, recovered well with wins against the Cobras and the Knights, and will hope to maintain momentum as they look to climb the table. They currently sit third on the log and will need a bonus point win to give them the best chance of grabbing second place.

For the Cobras, the match is one of two in what could be a decisive weekend for them in the competition. Ashwell Prince’s men are bottom of the standings and trail the top-placed Dolphins by 10 points, with four games to play.

They will be desperate for points and Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana is wary of the threat they will pose in the North West.

‘The Cobras are a quality, quality side,’ he said. ‘I mean, if you look at the names in their team, there are some top, top players. There’s no doubt they will be tough to beat.

‘But we’ve just got to stick to the basics and focus on executing our skills, hopefully the rest will take care of itself.’

Toyana, meanwhile, is trying to get his players in the right mental frame for the clash, especially after their recent good performances.

‘We go into the game on the back of two wins, but we know we just can’t take anything for granted in this competition,’ he explained. ‘We’ll work hard to avoid any complacency.’

The Lions boss also knows that they are now entering the business end of the 50-over competition.

‘Our preparation has gone well so far and we are at home, where we love playing and we have to win this game,’ he added. ‘That’s what we need to do.

‘I think from here on, we can’t afford too many slip-ups. If you watched the game last night, you would have seen that both teams played well. It just showed how strong teams are. So we can’t take anything for granted.’

Dwaine Pretorius has returned from Proteas duty and is set to play.