LEICESTER look to maintain their strong start to the season when they host Newcastle at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena on Saturday (7pm).
The Watling JCB Lions have gone through the 60-point barrier in both home matches so far, including in their league opener against Scunthorpe, and they have also progressed to the quarter-finals of the KO Cup.
But boss Stewart Dickson insists his side need to keep their focus and not under-estimate the Diamonds, who have been built as a solid line-up rather than one with massive heat-leader power.
Dickson said: “We’re looking for a win obviously, but I’m certainly not one of the people who have written Newcastle off. I’ve just got to look after Leicester’s affairs.
“I know this is their first official fixture in the Championship, but we’re looking for the three points – whether we get a big win or not, you never know how speedway is going to pan out.
“Racking up another win is the important thing, however many race points we score, and we’ll be looking to put in another big performance to set us up for a busy Easter weekend.
“The meetings are going to start coming thick and fast, but we’ll take things one at a time – so Newcastle on Saturday is our focus, and three points is what I’m looking for.”
The Lions are unchanged with Dickson retaining the riding order which has worked so well in the early weeks of the season.
The visitors, meanwhile, include two former Leicester riders in Max Clegg and Paul Starke, both of whom rode for the club in the old Elite League days of 2014 and 2016 respectively.
They have brought New Zealander Bradley Wilson-Dean back into British racing this year and he lines up at No.1, with his younger fellow countryman George Congreve making his official Championship debut at reserve alongside speedway returnee Lee Complin.
LEICESTER: Nick Morris, Connor Mountain, Kyle Howarth, Dan Thompson, Richie Worrall, Anders Rowe, Joe Thompson.
NEWCASTLE: Bradley Wilson-Dean, Matthew Wethers, James Wright, Max Clegg, Paul Starke, Lee Complin, George Congreve.
