PREVIEW: OXFORD v BIRMINGHAM (CJL)

OXFORD and Birmingham meet for the first of two meetings in 24 hours starting at Cowley tonight (Tuesday).

The Cheetahs are racing in the Championship Jubilee League for the first time whilst the Brummies picked up three points from last week’s matches against Plymouth.

Paul Starke is again ruled out for the hosts, who operate rider replacement, whilst Birmingham’s various gaps are plugged by Tom Brennan, Paco Castagna and Jason Edwards.

Oxford co-manager Peter Schroeck said: “Last week was a huge disappointment. The Championship is now out of our reach, but tonight we have the opportunity to start fresh in the Jubilee League.

“Birmingham have experienced a challenging year, but we know when the team clicks they’re very capable of pulling a result out of the bag which we need to be aware of.

“With only six fixtures in the group stage, it’s critical to win all your home meetings and target away points where possible. This is an important two days for the team, and we’re determined to right our wrongs from last Wednesday.”

Brummies boss Laurence Rogers said: “Two wins would be ideal as we’re in quite a strong group alongside Plymouth and Poole as well and to have any chance of progressing, we almost certainly need an away win somewhere.

“Oxford is one place we’ve already won at this year and looking at the line-ups, I believe we can go there and push them all the way again.”

OXFORD: Scott Nicholls, Dillon Ruml, Paul Starke r/r, Aaron Summers, Troy Batchelor, Cameron Heeps, Jordan Jenkins.
BIRMINGHAM: Tom Brennan, Stefan Nielsen, Paco Castagna, Ashley Morris, Justin Sedgmen, Jason Edwards, James Pearson.