PREVIEW: LEICESTER v BIRMINGHAM (KOC)

LEICESTER and Birmingham meet at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena tonight (Saturday) in the first official team fixture of the new season.

The Lions stage the first leg of the KO Cup tie with Anders Rowe making his debut at reserve, whilst Richie Worrall and Connor Mountain return to the club after being part of their 2019 title-winning side.

Birmingham have new signings Claus Vissing, Josh Auty, Stefan Nielsen and Australian youngster James Pearson on track, and also include Ben Morley in their 1-7 pending the arrival of Adam Ellis next week.

Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “We’re really looking forward to getting started, and having had good weather all week it’s been nice to be able to plan with certainty.

“Birmingham are our closest rivals, so we certainly didn’t want to lose them over the winter. I wish them a good season, they seem to be doing things right – but obviously as Leicester team manager, my job is to make sure we get progression to the next round of the Cup.”

Brummies manager Laurence Rogers said: “After a long, stressful few months it will be great to see the Brummies back out on track with everything that’s gone on over the winter.

“It won’t be easy, that’s for sure – going to Leicester never is. Stewart has built another strong-looking side there this year and he’s always hungry for trophies.”

LEICESTER: Nick Morris, Connor Mountain, Kyle Howarth, Dan Thompson, Richie Worrall, Anders Rowe, Joe Thompson.
BIRMINGHAM: Claus Vissing, James Shanes, Stefan Nielsen, Ashley Morris, Josh Auty, Ben Morley, James Pearson.