Saskatchewan @ BC preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 5, 2016 ) Saskatchewan 18, BC Lions 41

The BC Lions look to stay within striking distance of top spot in the West Division when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the first game of a home-and-home set Saturday. The Lions are coming off a 37-26 loss to the undefeated Edmonton Eskimos to fall into third place in the race for the division title and hope to get back on the winning track by beating the Roughriders for the seventh straight time after sweeping the season series for the last two years.

BC has won the last two home meetings with Saskatchewan by an average margin of 24.5 points while putting up 40 or more points in the process. The Roughriders are feeling good about themselves after knocking off the East Division-leading Toronto Argonauts 38-27 in Week 6. Saskatchewan racked up 18 points in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory and hopes to parlay that success with its first win over the Lions since a 20-16 triumph Aug. 24, 2014. "You have to win home games and you've got to win division games," Saskatchewan wide receiver Bakari Grant told reporters. "We won a home game and now we have some division games coming up that will provide us with a good opportunity to show what we're made of."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN

ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS (2-3): Duron Carter was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Week after catching nine passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns against Toronto. Kicker Tyler Crapigna (13-of-15) was placed on the six-game injured list after pulling a muscle against Toronto and will be replaced by second-year Canadian Quinn van Gylswyk, who struggled in his only appearance of 2016, missing two of his three attempts against the Calgary Stampeders. Free-agent acquisition Chad Owens practiced for the first time since suffering a leg injury in training camp and the veteran slotback could be ready to make his season debut in two weeks.

ABOUT THE LIONS (4-2): Defensive back T.J. Lee made three tackles and an interception before dislocating his elbow in the second quarter and will be sidelined for the next month. Dynamic wide receiver Chris Williams, who had 77 receptions for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2016, is set to make his debut after recovering from a torn ACL suffered late last season. Manny Arceneaux caught six passes for 38 yards and a touchdown despite playing with a sore knee and is questionable for Saturday while Jeremiah Johnson accounted for 74 total yards and a score to extend his touchdown streak to six games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. BC is averaging 36.3 points over its last three contests.

2. Saskatchewan has lost 11 of its last 12 games against West Division rivals.

3. Arceneaux has three touchdown catches in his last two games.

PREDICTION: Lions 33, Roughriders 24