PREVIEW: LEICESTER v EDINBURGH (Champ)

LEICESTER will be up against some familiar faces when they finally launch their Championship title defence at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena tonight (Saturday).

The Lions host Edinburgh exactly 19 months since they secured the 2019 title at Glasgow – and two of their squad members from that season, Richie Worrall and Joe Lawlor, are in the Monarchs’ side.

Nick Morris and new skipper Kyle Howarth make their debuts for the hosts – and it will be a proud moment for 17-year-old local twins Dan and Joe Thompson who step up to race in the professional league for the first time.

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “I feel this could be a very difficult opening fixture. We know how good Sam Masters is around here, and I’d say he was one of the top three visitors in 2019, when he scored a maximum.

“Richie of course knows the place very well and Josh Pickering is a rider who’s only going to get better.

“That makes it an exciting fixture and an immediate test for our own top boys, the likes of Nick and Dougy, because they need to be beating Sam at least once if they want to be classed up there as that sort of level of rider.”

LEICESTER: Nick Morris, Ty Proctor, Kyle Howarth, Josh Bates, Ryan Douglas, Dan Thompson, Joe Thompson.
EDINBURGH: Sam Masters, Nathan Greaves, Kye Thomson, Josh Pickering, Richie Worrall, Joe Lawlor, William Lawson.