LEICESTER hit the halfway mark in their Championship campaign with this weekend’s home and away clashes against Redcar.
The table-topping Watling JCB Lions travel to the Media Prima Arena on Friday (7.30pm) before hosting the Bears back at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena 24-hours later.
And to complete a busy weekend, Lions then head to Eastbourne on Sunday afternoon (3.30pm) for the first leg of their Knockout Cup tie.
The current standings show Stewart Dickson’s side six points clear at the top, and having secured a highly impressive total of eleven points on their travels.
And they travel to Teesside with confidence having already notched a 49-41 win at the venue in the Championship Shield on Good Friday.
The Bears have only raced three league matches so far and have made one change from their early-season line-up as former skipper Ben Barker has been released, and replaced by ex-Birmingham man Ulrich Ostergaard.
With Jordan Stewart away on Under-21 duty for Australia, the in-form Broc Nicol slots in as a guest in both meetings, having collected double-figures in recent appearances at Birmingham and Eastbourne.
The home side also have a doubt over Tom Bacon who crashed in the Fours last weekend and missed their defeat at Somerset on Wednesday.
Lions, meanwhile, bring in youngster Jason Edwards to fill the gap left by Jack Thomas’s decision to take time out of the sport.
Dickson said: “When you beat teams in the Shield or the Cup, you know they won’t want to lose to the same team twice on their own patch, as we saw with Sheffield recently.
“I know Redcar will be well up for it, and they have certainly brought in a good guest because Broc Nicol is in a rich vein of form at the moment.
“But there’s no doubt that we will be going there targeting an away win. That’s the plan, and if we can’t get that then if we come away with something we won’t be too despondent.
“We have guys who go well there, and Josh (Bates) only scored three there last time which is when he had a wee dip in form, but he’s now back to close to what he was showing us early in the season.
“We’ll travel with optimism and we’re right to do that, because our results away from home so far prove that we are capable.”
*Redcar are offering Lions’ season ticket holders a special admission price of £10 to watch the Championship match on Friday. Proof of accreditation is required at the entrance of the stadium.
REDCAR: Charles Wright, Tom Bacon, Ulrich Ostergaard, Broc Nicol, Michael Palm Toft, Nathan Greaves, Jack Smith.
LEICESTER: Scott Nicholls, Ellis Perks, Josh Bates, Ryan Douglas, Richie Worrall, Jason Edwards, Connor Mountain.
*A FURTHER £10 admission offer will be available at Eastbourne on Sunday, extended to Supporters’ Club members as well as season ticket holders. Proof of accreditation is required at the turnstile door situated on the extreme left-hand side of the entrance to the stadium at Arlington.
