LEICESTER manager Stewart Dickson has re-shuffled his riding order for the trip to Birmingham in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Monday (7.30pm).
The Watling JCB Lions are looking to bounce back from a tough week which featured a heavy defeat at Belle Vue and then an agonising last-heat loss at home to champions Sheffield.
They face a Brummies side who are back in the top-flight for the first time in a decade and who have proved competitive so far, although they only have one point from four matches.
Dickson has elected to switch Ryan Douglas, a rider with a terrific record at Perry Barr, into the No.2 berth where he will partner captain Max Fricke.
Richard Lawson moves into the middle-order with Luke Becker whilst Sam Masters, who has also been strong at the West Midlands venue in the past, goes to No.5.
Meanwhile, the Lions' Rising Star Joe Thompson has been declared fit to ride after being involved in a heavy crash at Scunthorpe on Friday when racing for his Championship club Plymouth.
The Brummies will hand a debut to Polish star Piotr Pawlicki, who has missed the early weeks of the season due to injury.
But they will still include former Lions skipper Scott Nicholls – who replaced Pawlicki in their first four matches and delivered some vintage displays – as he comes in to guest for Wiktor Lampart, who was injured in a crash in Poland last week.
It means the home side are tracking arguably their strongest configuration of the season, and another tough match is in prospect.
Dickson said: “We have to dust ourselves down and we need to go to Birmingham and win, which will wipe out our defeat on Thursday.
“I’d already changed the riding order before we rode against Sheffield. I want to try something different just to see if we can get a bit of a better balance.
“We saw Max and Dougy in Heat 13 on Thursday, so whilst I might be scratching for something that’s not there, I feel I’ve got to try it, and I already had that plan.
“We’re not going to curl into a ball, we’re going to come back fighting, and collectively we will keep working to turn things around. The team need to be fired up to win at Birmingham on Monday.”
Lions fans not making the trip to Perry Barr should note that the full meeting will be live streamed, with passes available from https://www.brummies.tv .
BIRMINGHAM: Vaclav Milik, Tom Brennan, Steve Worrall, Scott Nicholls, Piotr Pawlicki, Zach Cook, Leon Flint.
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Ryan Douglas, Luke Becker, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
