Steelers face first league encounter with Storm

Photo: Dean Woolley

Sheffield welcome Manchester to the Utilita Arena on Saturday night for their first clash in the league this season.

The sides met four times in cup action in 202 but then saw their New Year's fixtures postponed due to COVID-19 protocol - all four of their meetings so far went the way of the Steelers.

Aaron Fox's Sheffield side remain two points clear at the top of the table, and extended their advantage over Belfast thanks to the Giants dropping a point in Dundee on Friday. The Steelers have games in hand on both of the sides chasing them and have been in pole position for most of this season. They head into this clash on a run of five straight wins, and have not lost at home since November.

Manchester's Friday night win over Nottingham was much-needed and saw them climb to sixth overall - though they have played more games than the teams around them, in some cases considerably so. The victory ended a run of two straight losses and means Ryan Finnerty's team have picked up seven points out of the last 10.

Storm's last win in Sheffield was in September 2018.