LEICESTER face a huge home clash with defending champions Sheffield in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Thursday (7.30pm).
The sides meet at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumotn Park with the Watling JCB Lions desperate to inject some momentum into what has been a stop-start season so far.
A reaction is required to Monday’s 51-33 defeat at Belle Vue, and whilst conditions were far from ideal in Manchester it’s crucial that the Lions fire as an all-round unit to secure the league points.
But it will be far from easy against the Tigers, who won the league title in dramatic circumstances last October and are defending the silverware with a familiar line-up.
The visitors track two former World Champions in Tai Woffinden and Chris Holder, with Woffinden starting the season in tremendous form, along with current World No.4 Jack Holder who is back after injury ruled him out of UK racing in the latter stages of last season.
The Tigers also include the spectacular Josh Pickering as well as captain Kyle Howarth who led the Lions during their most recent spell in the Championship.
Lions will track an unchanged riding order for the first meeting in a run of four successive Thursdays at home, and they also make the trip to Birmingham next Monday.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “Every meeting is important, but we know Sheffield are a top team and they will be coming to get something, they will see us as being a bit wounded at the moment.
“That’s what I’d be doing if I was them, but our guys will be pumped up for Thursday, we will be ready for it. Thursday is a different day.
“I expect to see a response from my riders, they’ll get a response from me in my team-talk and fingers crossed we’ll be all guns blazing and it should be a cracker.”
Supporters unable to attend on Thursday are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed on Lions TV. Passes available for £12.99 from https://www.leicesterlionstv.com/ .
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder, Kyle Howarth, Chris Holder, Josh Pickering, Tai Woffinden, Jason Edwards, Dan Gilkes.
