COLIN LLOYD is hoping to step up his play-off challenge in the Holsten Premier League Darts when he takes on Raymond van Barneveld in Reading.
Lloyd got back to winning ways last week, picking up his second victory of the year with an 8-4 defeat of Peter Manley in Glasgow.
He followed that up by reaching the semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net Players Championship in Germany, and needs to continue that form if he is to cut the six-point gap to the top four.
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"It was good to get the win last week and it's given me a chance now," said Lloyd.
"There's still plenty of ground to make up but I needed to get those points.
"Hopefully I can back it up this week, but I know how tough it will be against Raymond and I'll have to take my chances.
"I was 3-0 down before I knew it in the last match against him and I know I must start better."
Van Barneveld bounced back from his defeat to Dennis Priestley in Blackpool with a fine display to defeat Adrian Lewis last week.
He landed three ton-plus finishes in the 8-3 victory in Glasgow, and backed that up by taking victory in Saturday's PartyPoker.net Players Championship in Germany.
And Lloyd is full of praise for the impact van Barneveld has made since switching to the PDC 12 months ago.
"Ray is a world class player," said Lloyd. "Everybody knew that, but it was a matter of whether he would make the jump and prove it against other world class players.
"He gambled everything to come over and you can't knock the man, I take my hat off to him. He's a nice guy and a fantastic darts player."
League leader Phil Taylor will be in action in the night's biggest-profile clash, when he faces second-placed Dennis Priestley.
Taylor remains the league's only unbeaten player after scrambling a 7-7 draw against Roland Scholten in Glasgow last week, having also tied with Priestley in their previous meeting.
Terry Jenkins will take on fifth-placed Scholten, while the night's final game sees Adrian Lewis face Peter Manley.
Lewis has lost his last five matches and slumped to the foot of the table last week with an 8-3 loss to van Barneveld.
Holsten Premier League Darts
Week Nine - 29 March
Rivermead Centre, Reading
Raymond van Barneveld v Colin Lloyd
Terry Jenkins v Roland Scholten
Dennis Priestley v Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis v Peter Manley
All the action will be screened live on Sky Sports, starting at 7.30pm.