LEICESTER make a welcome return to home track action when they host Northampton in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Thursday (7.30pm).
The Watling JCB Lions haven’t raced at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park in five weeks as the sole home team fixture scheduled for June, against Ipswich, was postponed due to the weather.
That means a hectic period lies ahead, and with the Witches match re-arranged for next Monday (July 6) the Lions have the opportunity to add significant points to their league total.
They currently sit fourth in the table but have raced the fewest home matches of any of the six Premiership teams, including Northampton who actually started their season a month after the other clubs.
The Lions did pick up a very useful away win at King’s Lynn just over a week ago and they also took the aggregate point from Round 1 encounters with the Foxes courtesy of a big home win, even though their first trip to Brafield resulted in a frustrating defeat.
Northampton’s previous visit saw them hit by injuries, but they track a full one-to-seven on this occasion although original signing Matej Zagar is still ruled out.
His replacement Jonas Jeppesen has recently dropped to reserve and previous form at the Hydroscand Arena suggests he could be a key figure on Thursday, along with former Leicester rider Nicolai Klindt and the in-form Kye Thomson.
Leicester’s July averages show a return to the template which started the season, with Drew Kemp now back at reserve, although manager Stewart Dickson has elected to tweak things in the top five.
Skipper Sam Masters moves to No.3, where he will partner Kyle Howarth, with Nick Morris switching to the No.5 position. Dan Thompson, who was forced to miss the away match at Sheffield last week due to a Polish commitment, is back at No.2 alongside Ryan Douglas.
Dickson said: “I believe the way we line up now with Drew back at reserve gives us a better balance overall and I’m pleased with how we can set ourselves up for what is a busy month.
“Nick has moved to No.5 as he’s been good at home this season, he’s just had an engine back and we saw how well he went at Berwick last weekend which is encouraging for us.
“Northampton will be tougher opponents than earlier this season when they had injuries, and our defeat there still really irks me, so we know what we have to do and we’re looking forward to these two home matches.”
Fans unable to attend the meeting should note it will be live streamed by Lions TV with passes available from https://www.leicesterlionstv.com/ .
LEICESTER: Ryan Douglas, Dan Thompson, Sam Masters, Kyle Howarth, Nick Morris, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
NORTHAMPTON: Jaimon Lidsey, Kye Thomson, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Troy Batchelor, Nicolai Klindt, Jonas Jeppesen, Luke Harrison.
