Canterbury Hockey Club is set for one of their biggest occasions of the season on Sunday with the men and women set to face-off against rivals from Reading in a president’s day double-header.

The Ladies will face the Berkshire outfit at 12.30pm in a clash between the top-two in Investec National Premier Division, separated only by goal-difference.

Canterbury men will then face the same side seeking to avenge an early-season defeat with a win which would give their play-off credentials a boost.

Ladies player-coach Jen Wilson said: “Everyone is looking forward to the day. The atmosphere should be fantastic.

“They have good players and are a good team but we can’t worry about that. We have to focus on ourselves and our game and not worry about anything else.”

One sub-plot which has been removed from the script is the return to Polo Farm of former Canterbury captain and GB international Susannah Townsend, who quit the club in the summer to join the champions.

Townsend is in Argentina with the England side preparing for next week’s World League Finals and she admitted: “It would have been tough coming back but it should be an incredible day. It’s a Super Sunday with the men and the women playing back-to-back.

“I’m sure I would have taken a lot of stick, and there might have been the odd shout of ‘Judas’ but it was to be expected. I’d just get on with things.

“Canterbury is the first result I look out for when I get off the pitch for Reading. It's great to see them doing so well.”

Men's captain Michael Farrer says the shock of losing at Hampstead & Westminster last weekend has focused Canterbury minds ahead of their NOW Pensions National Premier Division clash.

The city club host the Berkshire side in the second game of the double-header (2.30pm).

After Saturday’s surprise last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Hampstead & Westminster, Farrer said: “We cannot afford any complacency and it has made us even more motivated to perform against Reading.

“We are underdogs but that has helped us in the past. Hopefully, they will underestimate us.”

The city club remain three points adrift of fourth-placed Surbiton while third-placed Reading are a further five points ahead.

The Canterbury captain added: “There is still a long way to go but it looks like there are potentially going to be four teams fighting for the last play-off place.”