LEICESTER bid to regain the leadership of the National League when they make the long trip to Plymouth on Friday (7.15pm).
It’s the start of a busy weekend for the Roger Webster Lion Cubs, who also visit Stoke on Saturday in the KO Cup semi-finals and then host the Potters in the return as part of Sunday’s double-header at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena.
The Cubs defeated Plymouth 59-30 when the sides met in the East Midlands last week, and they subsequently went top of the table by taking all four points at previous leaders Kent on Monday - before the Kings responded with a shock 45-44 victory at Belle Vue on Thursday.
The match at the Coliseum will be far from straightforward even though the Gladiators are bottom, as the Cubs are another rider down with Joe Thompson ruled out after his crash at Central Park.
With Luke Ruddick remaining on the sidelines, Cradley’s Luke Harris stands in as a guest, and rider-replacement is in operation for Thompson.
Plymouth have re-strengthened since last Tuesday with Nathan Stoneman back from injury, and he comes in for Luke Chessell who broke his wrist at Leicester.
The Coliseum circuit has come in for much debate in 2019, including when the Lion Cubs suffered a late postponement there earlier in the season – but what was beyond doubt was that the home riders found no trouble last Friday in racking up a huge score in a Four Team Tournament when several of the opposition were unhappy with conditions.
Leicester boss Dave Howard said: “Obviously it’s a bit of a patched-up side with us having to bring a guest in as well as having rider-replacement, but we’ll be going down there full of optimism.
“To have two four-point wins out of three away league matches, as well as a point in the other one, is a great start to the campaign, and really the away wins are what push you forward for the play-offs.”
PLYMOUTH: Ben Wilson, Adam Extance, Nathan Stoneman, Richard Andrews, David Wallinger, Adam Sheppard, Jamie Bursill.
LEICESTER: Danyon Hume, Dan Thompson, Joe Thompson R/R, Luke Harris, Ellis Perks, Ryan MacDonald, Ryan Terry-Daley.
