KING’S Lynn kick off the final quarter of their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign with everything to race for as they head to Sheffield on Monday (7.30pm).
Whilst the top two in the league table, Belle Vue and Leicester, are well clear at this stage, there are only four points between the next three teams, one of whom will miss out on the play-offs.
The PSH Environmental Stars are currently fifth, four points behind Monday’s opponents having raced the same number of meetings.
A win at Owlerton would therefore really put the cat amongst the Tigers, but perhaps a more realistic target for the next phase of meetings is to look to overhaul Ipswich who are just two points ahead, albeit with a match in hand.
The Stars host Ipswich in what is a huge meeting at the Adrian Flux Arena next Monday where they will need to chase the aggregate point as well as the win on the night.
Before that they head to South Yorkshire, scene of an incredible away win last month when the Stars stunned their hosts with four successive 5-1s on their way to a 46-44 victory.
It may be somewhat more difficult on this occasion as Sheffield have responded with big results on their own track since then, although they were slammed 58-32 at Leicester on Thursday.
When Lynn won at Owlerton in July the Tigers operated rider replacement for the injured Jack Holder at No.1, but this time they have the strong presence of Jason Doyle guesting in that position, and Josh Pickering is due back from a short injury absence.
They also track British No.3 Leon Flint, who edged Stars youngster Cooper Rushen out of the podium places at Belle Vue on Saturday.
Lynn are at full strength with a change of riding order compared to last week’s league match in Manchester, as Ben Cook switches positions with Rushen and goes to the No.2 berth.
They also hold a ten-point advantage for the aggregate point after their recent 50-40 victory over the Tigers at the Adrian Flux Arena.
Manager Rob Lyon said: “There’s a lot to play for, and we’ve already had a good one at Sheffield recently so to have another good one there would be great.
“Our next two matches probably are quite crucial, so we’ll see what comes out of those, and we have an aggregate point at least to protect at Sheffield.
“The Ipswich match will be a real six-pointer, that’s a big one for both teams, and for us it’s a real key meeting.”
SHEFFIELD: Jason Doyle, Anders Rowe, Chris Holder, Leon Flint, Josh Pickering, Jye Etheridge, Luke Killeen. KING’S LYNN: Max Fricke, Ben Cook, Chris Harris, Cooper Rushen, Jan Kvech, Jordan Jenkins, Jody Scott.
