After winning away at Newcastle last weekend, Plymouth coach Paul James is looking to bag another major scalp when the Raiders take on the BBL champions at the Morningside Arena on Saturday.

“The expectation is to go there and, first and foremost, compete,” he told BBC Sport. “As we did at Newcastle, we plan to be in the game with about two minutes to go and give ourselves a shot at winning.”

James took over as Plymouth coach last summer after coaching the Worcester Wolves.

“There’s so much potential here in Plymouth,” he said. “They have a great fan base, great crowds, great sponsors. I don't see why we can't be a top three team on a regular basis.”

“Over the years Plymouth teams haven't done particularly well on the road and that is a culture I'm trying to change.

"When I came here I brought a few players with a bit of grit about them,” said James. “What also has helped was bringing my assistant coach [Danny Magee] down from. He fully understands how I want to do things.”

Plymouth are now on course to reach the BBL Play-offs for the first time in six seasons.

Plymouth Raiders travel to reigning champions Leicester Riders having won just two games away from home this season.

Their second victory came last week when they beat seven-time champions Newcastle 91-86 on the night the Eagles played the first game at their new arena. Watch the game on BBC iPlayer here.Leicester, who are chasing their third consecutive BBL Championship title, have had a challenging start to the 2018/19 season and have lost three games already this season - having only lost five in total last year.

The three defeats came at the hands of title-challenges Newcastle and league-leaders London Lions, who secured narrow victories home and away over the Eagles.

The Riders started their campaign late after becoming the first British club for 10 seasons to take part in a European competition.

Image source, BBL

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