PREVIEW: LEICESTER v IPSWICH (ROWE MOTOR OIL PREM)

LEICESTER host ROWE Motor Oil Premiership leaders Ipswich tonight (Thursday) with the visitors eight points clear at the top.

The Lions remain outside the top four and face a Witches side who have an excellent past record at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park.

Both teams are forced into changes with Ryan Douglas ruled out for the hosts after a crash in Sweden on Tuesday, and rider replacement is in operation.

For the visitors, Scott Nicholls again steps in for long-term injury victim Jason Doyle, and they operate rider replacement for Dan Thompson who is out with a dislocated shoulder.

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “We need to get the monkey off our backs with Ipswich – we need to beat them.

“It’s going to be tough, but do I think we’re in better shape? Yes, definitely, we are in better shape going into it.

“We will need all of our riders to be firing. We have scored 54 and 53 in our last two home meetings, so that’s not too bad, and I think we can say we go into the meeting in decent form, I wouldn’t say brilliant, but it’s decent and any sort of win is the target.”

Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “We have had great success at Leicester in the last couple of years, some of them have been down to the superb performances of Dan.

“To miss him or not have a fully fit Dan is a blow, but the form the rest of boys have been in will give us a chance anywhere. We go there with great confidence with so many recent victories there.

“Scott will carry on at No.1. When he is available, he will be in the team, we have made no secret of that, and Leicester is a place I know he will go well around.”

LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas R/R, Craig Cook, Sam Hagon, Max James (no.8).
IPSWICH: Scott Nicholls, Dan Thompson R/R, Danny King, Adam Ellis, Emil Sayfutdinov, Keynan Rew, Jordan Jenkins, Freddy Hodder (no.8).
SCB Referee: Matthew Edwards-Wear

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