The Harry Jordan Haulage Lions who are in the midst of their best spell since the return of the sport in 2011 travel to Sheffield on Thursday in search of another win to cement their position at the top of the Premier League table.
Leicester though will be without their in-form heat leader Magnus Karlsson who has a prior commitment back home in Sweden so the club have asked Coventry’s National League rider James Sarjeant to stand-in on the night.
“It is unfortunate that we are without Magnus at Sheffield for what is an important fixture for us, particularly as we are on a roll with five consecutive league wins to our credit. Magnus is required to ride for his Swedish club Ornarna in an Allsvenskan League fixture and they have first call on his services as Magnus did not re-join Leicester until after he had signed for them” explained the Lions co-promoter Alan Jones.
Sarjeant, who recently appeared for Leicester earlier this month when he deputised for Robert Branford in the fixtures against Berwick and Ipswich, takes the number 2 race jacket and Jan Graversen moves to four in the line-up with Kevin Doolan occupying the number five position normally occupied by Karlsson.
Sheffield Team:
1. Simon Stead, 2. Facundo Albin, 3. Joe Haines, 4. Richard Hall, 5. Ricky Wells, 6. Damien Koppe and 7. Jake Knight
Leicester Team:
1. Kauko Nieminen, 2. James Sarjeant, 3. Lasse Bjerre, 4. Jan Graversen, 5. Kevin Doolan, 6. Alex Edberg and 7. Robert Branford
The following evening Lasse Bjerre and Kevin Doolan will represent Leicester in the Premier League Best Pairs Final competition at Somerset. The Lions duo have been drawn in Group B alongside pairs from Edinburgh, Workington, Plymouth and Sheffield. The top two pairings from each group progress to the semi-final stage with the winners going through to a grand final. Leicester reached the semi-final stage last season only to go out against the Scunthorpe Scorpions.
