PREVIEW: BIRMINGHAM v SHEFFIELD (Prem)

BIRMINGHAM stage their first top-flight home match for nearly a decade with champions Sheffield the visitors to Perry Barr tonight (Monday).

Both teams have already raced at Oxford in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, with both going down to narrow 47-43 defeats.

Scott Nicholls remains in the Brummies side as Piotr Pawlicki recovers from his pre-season injury, and expectations are high at the start of a new era for the Second City club.

Home captain Steve Worrall said: “This is the one we’ve been waiting for. I know we’ve been to Oxford already and lost, but I think we can take some things away from that.

“We all can’t wait to get out there now in front of our home fans, and for it to be against Sheffield with the team they’ve got, what a night it should be.

“There are no slouches in their team, but I think it should be a fantastic night and hopefully everyone will get behind it and we’ll be able to put on a show for our fans.”

Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “I think that now we’ve got one under our belts and blown the cobwebs off, I think we’ll start showing what we’re truly made of as a team.

“Don’t get me wrong, it will be a tough place to go to because at the end of the day, it’s their first home meeting back in this league and everyone at Birmingham has been building up to us coming.

“It’s also another place that our heat-leaders won’t have been to for quite a while. So I think it will be another good test for us but at the same time I think it’s a good opportunity to get some points on the board.”

BIRMINGHAM: Vaclav Milik, Tom Brennan, Wiktor Lampart, Steve Worrall, Scott Nicholls, Zach Cook, Leon Flint.
SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder, Kyle Howarth, Chris Holder, Josh Pickering, Tai Woffinden, Jason Edwards, Dan Gilkes.
SCB Referee: Seth Perkin

*LIVE STREAMING: https://www.brummies.tv