LEICESTER go for two home wins in five days when they resume rivalries with Ipswich at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park in a rearranged fixture on Monday (7.30pm).
The two clubs contested last season’s ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final which ended with the Witches taking their first top-flight title since 1998 after two hard-fought legs.
Both sides are firmly in the mix for play-off qualification once again this season, and their paths are set to cross on several occasions over the coming weeks.
Following Monday’s meeting, the Watling JCB Lions travel to Foxhall for the return fixture on Thursday, and the teams then meet again home and away in the KO Cup Final at the end of the month.
The Lions defeated Northampton 49-41 on Thursday, although that meeting did include another crash for Kyle Howarth who withdrew after two rides and subsequently missed his Championship match for Glasgow on Friday.
Howarth aggravated an existing ankle injury and is ruled out on Monday meaning the Lions will operate rider replacement, with the additional outings to be taken by Dan Thompson, Nick Morris and reserves Drew Kemp and Joe Thompson.
Lions have switched their order due to operating rider replacement, with Howarth placed at No.2 whilst Thompson teams up with skipper Sam Masters in the middle order.
Morris was also involved in a heavy crash at Berwick at the weekend, but thankfully he walked away with just bruising.
Meanwhile Ipswich suffered a 54-36 defeat at King’s Lynn on Thursday in a meeting where only former Lions rider Richard Lawson was in the major points.
The Witches did win at Northampton last Monday and have since upgraded Danish rider Kevin Juhl Pedersen from a guest into a full-time signing, replacing the struggling Philip Hellstrom-Bangs.
A side packed with experience also includes former Lions captains Scott Nicholls and Danny King, along with GB regular Tom Brennan and Polish star Tobiasz Musielak.
Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “I’m sure Ipswich will be keen to bounce back from their result on Thursday, and this is a big week for us as we also travel to Foxhall on Thursday.
“We need to focus on getting a home win first and foremost, if we can get a bigger margin than we managed against Northampton then fine, but at the moment it’s just a case of winning.
“Hopefully the track time on Thursday will have helped some of the boys, but Ipswich have some capable riders and I saw Richard Lawson scoring very well at King’s Lynn, so it won’t be easy.
“They’re probably a bit like us at the moment in that they have one or two riders in indifferent form, but that can change and they can turn it on at any time! I’m expecting a competitive meeting and hopefully it will be another two points on the board.”
Supporters who are unable to attend the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park on Monday can still follow all the action on Lions TV, with the live stream available from https://www.leicesterlionstv.com/ .
LEICESTER: Ryan Douglas, Kyle Howarth R/R, Sam Masters, Dan Thompson, Nick Morris, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
IPSWICH: Tom Brennan, Danny King, Richard Lawson, Scott Nicholls, Tobiasz Musielak, Kevin Juhl Pedersen, Jason Edwards.
