LEICESTER go for a fourth successive home win in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership when they host Oxford at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park on Thursday (7.30pm).
The Watling JCB Lions are well placed in the play-off zone and they can add three more points to their total with victory over the Spires, who are making their first visit of the season.
The sides were scheduled to meet home and away on Easter Monday, but the weather intervened in those plans, although the Lions did win 49-41 at Cowley at lunchtime meaning any margin of success on Thursday will be enough to also take the aggregate point.
Manager Stewart Dickson names an unchanged team after last week’s win over King’s Lynn, with Lions continuing to operate rider replacement at No.2 for the injured Luke Becker.
Oxford endured a torrid start to the campaign and would now need an extraordinary run to be able to make it into the top four, but they do now appear to be a much stronger side than in those early weeks.
A thumping 62-28 win over Birmingham increased the belief in the Spires camp, and they then ran powerhouse Ipswich close on Monday before just missing out in a last heat decider.
The Spires are without Erik Riss who has suffered a recurrence of the illness which afflicted him two years ago – but they have secured the best possible guest in former Lions star Richard Lawson, who piled up paid-16 for his regular club King’s Lynn at the Hydroscand Arena last week.
They are expected to track their normal line-up aside from that, with another former Leicester rider Craig Cook due back this week after a spell out of racing.
There are plenty of potential threats to the Lions, including captain and former World No.3 Maciej Janowski, the experienced Rohan Tungate, and ex-GP racer Peter Kildemand at reserve.
Dickson said: “I was pleased with the performance last week against King’s Lynn, and also with the fact that there was some really good racing too.
“Now we have to keep it going, and our full focus is on Oxford because they have riders who are capable of causing us problems.
“They have a very good guest in Richard, and although it will be a long time since Peter Kildemand last saw the Leicester track, we’re going to need our reserves to be on it as they have been lately.
“Oxford had a good win over Birmingham and they went close against Ipswich, so it should be a good match, but if we carry on doing what we’ve been doing of late, it’s one we expect to be winning.”
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Luke Becker r/r, Ryan Douglas, Kyle Howarth, Sam Masters, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
OXFORD: Maciej Janowski, Rohan Tungate, Craig Cook, Charles Wright, Richard Lawson, Peter Kildemand, Luke Killeen.
