Paul Trollope sees Bristol Rovers' clash with leaders Leeds United at the Memorial Stadium tonight as an ideal chance for his side to reaffirm their top-six credentials.

The Pirates have clung on in the play-off spots despite three defeats in a row, and now face title favourites who only suffered their first reverse of the campaign at Millwall on Saturday.

Trollope says his players have to believe they can quickly inflict another disappointment on the Yorkshire club. "We have to keep believing in ourselves, although we are aware of the test that comes when you play Leeds," said Trollope.

"They are the league leaders, but they suffered their first defeat at the weekend so they are not unbeatable. We have to go into it with a belief we can beat them.

"We have had some tremendous games of football with them in recent years, so let's hope this is another one. We are looking forward to it finally coming around because when it was postponed, it lead to us having a couple of free weeks.

"We are aware of our current form, and we need to right that and get back to winning ways. It's a tough challenge but one we are looking forward to.

"We are still in sixth place, this is our game in hand – and we want to make the most of it."

Although Rovers suffered a mauling in their 5-1 defeat at Norwich, they dominated spells of both Saturday's 2-1 reverse at the hands of Yeovil and their defeat by the same margin at Southend the previous weekend.

"The three defeats we have suffered have all been in different circumstances with different levels of performance," said Trollope.

"The Southend and Yeovil ones were disappointing because they were in games we should have taken something from. There were some positive things to take out of parts of those games, but also areas of concern that need immediate action and we have been working on the training ground to try and eradicate them."

Bristol Rovers are expecting close to a sell-out crowd at the Memorial Stadium and Trollope insisted: "The fans can play a big role. It's an ideal game for us after the disappointment of the Yeovil result on Saturday and they will be expecting us to win – we appreciate that.

"If they are loud and get right behind us, it could be a night to remember."

Rovers are likely to make at least one change with Dominic Blizzard replacing injured Chris Lines in midfield, while Leeds are expected to stick with the line-up that started their 2-1 reverse at the New Den.

"Leeds have threats with Jermaine Beckford and Sam Vokes up front, while Robert Snodgrass is one of the best wide players in the league," said Trollope.

"They have a big squad and strength in depth with people on their bench who can affect a game. We know their strengths but hopefully there are a few weaknesses there we can also exploit."