PREVIEW: PETERBOROUGH v SHEFFIELD (Prem)

PETERBOROUGH launch their Premiership campaign tonight (Monday) with the visit of Sheffield to the East of England Arena.

The Panthers have been boosted by impressive results in the Championship for several of their riders over the weekend, including Bjarne Pedersen’s 18-point maximum for Plymouth, a Glasgow track record for Scott Nicholls, and a paid-16 haul for Chris Harris at Berwick.

Rising Star Jordan Palin, meanwhile, made an accomplished senior debut with a score of 8+1 for Scunthorpe.

The Tigers, who picked up a point on their first outing at Belle Vue last week, have three former Panthers in their side – including in-form Australian star Jack Holder and fellow countryman Troy Batchelor, whilst Adam Ellis makes his debut.

Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “I’m pleased to be back and I’m pleased our fans are back. Monday will be tough because we know what a good team Sheffield are, we saw that on TV at Belle Vue last week.

“Our boys will need to be making good starts and I’m sure it will be a good night of racing.

“I’m equally as excited now as I was 14 months ago before the pandemic struck. I can’t wait to get going.”

Tigers skipper Kyle Howarth said: “We’re a good side and we can pick up points away from home. It’s always important to win home meetings, but there’s no reason why we can’t pick up points on the road.

“Peterborough have got riders I respect a lot, but it’s a track we like and I’m sure we can do well around there.”

PETERBOROUGH: Bjarne Pedersen, Hans Andersen, Michael Palm Toft, Scott Nicholls, Chris Harris, Jordan Palin, Ulrich Ostergaard.
SHEFFIELD: Troy Batchelor, Kyle Howarth, Adam Ellis, Justin Sedgmen, Jack Holder, James Wright, Josh Bates.