PREVIEW: LEICESTER v BIRMINGHAM (ROWE MOTOR OIL PREM)

LEICESTER bid to keep building momentum when they face Birmingham in a Midlands derby in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership tonight (Thursday).

The Lions moved into the top four with their win at King’s Lynn on Monday and they now have the opportunity to build a gap over Oxford as they go into home and away clashes with the Brummies.

The hosts again bring in Lewis Kerr as a guest at reserve with Craig Cook missing out, whilst the visitors operate rider replacement for Piotr Pawlicki as he has to race in a rearranged fixture in Poland.

Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “Of course we’ll be expected to win, but it’s not that straightforward. Look at Birmingham last week at Oxford, riding without pressure, and they’ve improved their team. There’s no doubt at all they’ve got a better team now.

“It’s a Midlands derby, we always get a good crowd when they are here and they bring good support, and it’s a big meeting again.

“We can’t take our hand off the throttle because we would just undo all the good work we’ve done at Sheffield and King’s Lynn, so we’ve got to remain professional and keep doing what we’re doing.

Birmingham CEO Nigel Tolley said: “Home and away, it will certainly be very interesting. The track over at Leicester will be completely different to what it will be at Perry Barr next Monday, so it could be close on aggregate.

“Like Belle Vue, Leicester is always a difficult track to go to as the away team so we know it won’t be easy, especially with the confidence they’re building of late.

“But we’ll go there and give it our best and as we showed at Oxford last week, if we ride to our capability, then anything can happen.”

LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Craig Cook, Sam Hagon.
BIRMINGHAM: Fredrik Lindgren, Piotr Pawlicki R/R, Wiktor Lampart, Zach Cook, Tom Brennan, Michael Palm Toft, Leon Flint.
SCB Referee: Wayne Jarvis

*LIVE STREAMING: https://www.leicesterlionstv.com/