PREVIEW: SHEFFIELD v LEICESTER (ROWE MOTOR OIL PREM)

PLAY-OFF qualifiers Sheffield and Leicester meet at Owlerton tonight (Thursday) with the home side looking to end a losing sequence against their East Midlands opponents.

The Lions have beaten the Tigers on each of the five occasions they have met this season, both in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership and the KO Cup.

Both sides are confirmed in the top four and therefore they could meet again in the play-offs. They are currently tied on 34 points in the standings with the Tigers having one match in hand, whilst the Lions hold a six-point advantage for the aggregate point.

Sheffield manager Simon Stead said: “Whilst Leicester had the upper hand on us each time so far this season, I think they’ll come here knowing we’re a different proposition now.

“We’re going to give it everything we’ve got to try and finish top of the regular standings, but whatever happens, we’re going to be involved in the thick of the real action once again.

“The dream is still alive, but it’s one step at a time for now and that starts as we try and get one over Leicester.”

Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “We know they will be gearing up for us, because we’ve beaten them five times out of five this season!

“I wouldn’t like that, and I would be drumming it into my riders on track walk that we’d need to redress the balance somewhat and put down a marker, especially as we could meet again in the play-offs.

“We have three away meetings remaining, and without being over-confident two of those are ones where we should be targeting wins, and if that’s the case then who’s to say where we might end up in the table?”

SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder, Anders Rowe, Josh Pickering, Nick Morris, Chris Holder, Jye Etheridge, Leon Flint.
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Kyle Howarth, Sam Masters, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.

SCB Referee: Craig Ackroyd