BALTI Sports’ manager Marco Nott expects the hunger for games caused by lockdown to make his squad “easy to motivate”.

Nott leads Balti in the Dorset Premier League at Portland United Reserves tomorrow (2pm), following the national four-week shutdown.

Due to the length of the break, Nott anticipates a step into the “unknown” against their derby rivals.

He told Echosport: “With it being Portland, we need no incentive to beat your local rivals.

“It’s a nice place to go as well, it’s a lovely pitch up there. It should be easy to motivate the lads to play. They should be looking forward to it after a month off.”

Midfielder Ryan Dovell (work) has recovered from a broken foot but misses out. Charlie Kenderdine (knee) could return in 2021 but Lloyd Beals (hip) is a doubt.

Defender Che Curran could return to face his old side, while Ethan Devaney may play.

Elsewhere, Dorchester Sports host unbeaten Westland Sports at the Avenue Stadium (2pm).

Boss Ashley James expects the fixture to feel like “starting a new season”.

He said: “Westland are a very good side, they’ve got a 100 per cent record.

“Both teams are going to be in the same situation. No-one’s going to have played for a while and I suppose it depends on who’s kept the fittest over this month.

“It’s like starting a new season again. It’s the unexpected, like the first game of the season, but we’ve got a good squad together and we’re hopeful of a good result.”

Sports trained last night ahead of the game and are expected to name a fully-fit squad.

Centre-back Shaun Bessant begins the first match of a three-game ban after seeing red during the 2-1 win at Wareham last time out.