By the end of tomorrow evening the Knights may well have secured first-place in the Burger King Super Smash and hosting rights to a second consecutive Grand Final.

The Knights make the short trip north for a clash with the other in-form side in the Super Smash, the Auckland Aces.

Victory over the Aces means the Knights will establish an unassailable lead at the top of the Super Smash with only one round to come.

It is another first versus second match-up for the Knights after the Aces moved into second spot on the ladder courtesy of their big win over the Canterbury Kings and the Central Stags' heavy loss to the Knights last weekend.

Last week's victory at McLean Park was the Knights' best performance of the season to date, as they posted their highest Super Smash and T20 score of 230 before dismissing the Stags for 99.

The Knights will need to replicate this performance if they are to achieve a positive result against the resurgent Aces, who have recovered from a slow start involving several abandoned matches.

It is a traditionally tight fixture with 23 matches between the sides resulting in 124slotss for the Knights and 12 for the Aces.

The Knights have the upper-hand in recent meetings however, winning their last four matches on the bounce against the Aucklanders.

Helping the Knights' cause is the return of Ish Sodhi to the squad, who has been in camp with the BLACKCAPS for the ODI series with India.

This strengthens the Knights' spin bowling options with Sodhi complementing Tarun Nethula, who claimed 6-23 in a brilliant performance against the Stags; the best T20 figures for the Knights.

KNIGHTS BURGER KING SUPER SMASH SQUAD - ROUND NINE V AUCKLAND ACES - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2019, 4.10pm, EDEN PARK OUTER OVAL

Dean Brownlie (c)

Kyle Abbott

Corey Anderson

Peter Bocock

Daniel Flynn

Brett Hampton

Nick Kelly

Scott Kuggeleijn

Daryl Mitchell

Tarun Nethula

Tim Seifert

Ish Sodhi

Neil Wagner