LEICESTER go into action for the first time in 2025 on Monday when they make the short trip across the Midlands to face Birmingham in the KO Cup (7.30pm).
The Watling JCB Lions won on both of their league visits to Perry Barr last season and will be looking to make the perfect start to the season in this quarter-final tie, with the return coming up at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park on Thursday.
But they do need to improve on their recent Cup record, having suffered early exits at the hands of Ipswich in the last two seasons.
The scale of the test against the Brummies is hard to quantify, given that their opponents have completely changed their side from last year, with all seven home riders making their debuts for the club.
The Birmingham squad overhaul features top Polish star Tobiasz Musielak at No.1, former GP riders Matej Zagar and Michael Jepsen Jensen in heat leader berths, and Keynan Rew makes the switch from Ipswich having done plenty of damage against the Lions last year.
Lions, though, will hope to capitalise on their greater Perry Barr experience with several members of their side having a strong record at the Second City venue.
Boss Stewart Dickson has elected to pair Luke Becker with skipper Max Fricke in a new opening combination, whilst Ryan Douglas and new signing Kyle Howarth team up in the middle order and Sam Masters starts at No.5.
Dickson said: “Certainly for the KO Cup matches I just want to give something a try. I want to see how Max and Luke get on together, and Dougy will go to No.3 as the third highest averaged rider, which is how I did it last year, with Sam at 5 and Kyle at 4.
“That’s how we will start against Birmingham, and it will most probably be the same on Thursday, but it’s not set in stone and if the guys aren’t happy with their pairings they can come to me and I do listen to them, they’re the guys riding the bikes ultimately.
“For me, I think there’s a good balance with the team that I’ve put together with the numbers on their backs.
“It wasn’t a fluke that we won all the matches we did last season, the riders were riding to their ability, and that’s why I brought as many of them back as possible, because I believe in them.
“But we do need to be on our guard against Birmingham first and foremost. We want to get through in this tie and improve our KO Cup record, so we have to put in a performance on Monday so we can bring them back and win overall on aggregate at home.”
Lions fans making the trip are asked to note the revised parking arrangements at Perry Barr and potentially aim to arrive a little earlier – details at https://www.birmingham-speedway.com/news.php?extend.3616 .
For those not making the journey, the meeting will be live streamed at https://www.brummies.tv .
There is an additional bonus of nine second half races after the main event with the line-up including Lion Cubs newcomer Eli Meadows and Fox Cubs signing Max Broadhurst.
BIRMINGHAM: Tobiasz Musielak, Jonas Jeppesen, Michael Jepsen Jensen, Keynan Rew, Matej Zagar, Antti Vuolas, Jason Edwards.
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Kyle Howarth, Sam Masters, Drew Kemp, Sam Hagon.
