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Two important meetings take place this evening in the Elite League, and here at The Sports Lowdown, we look at both and give our opinion on who could win in each meeting.
Poole Pirates vs Wolverhampton Wolves
Poole will be looking to make amends when they welcome Wolverhampton to Wimborne Road tonight, having lost against the Elite League strugglers on Monday.
The Pirates, who were leading 33-21 after nine heats, eventually lost the meeting 47-46 after a fantastic Wolves comeback, which included an 8-1 win in heat ten.
The Pirates have a full strength squad, whilst Wolves are without reserve duo Lewis Blackbird and Josh Bates, allowing James Sarjent and Robert Branford to fill the void.
Pirates promoter Matt Ford insists that his side must do all they can to avoid a similar scenario as they aim to close the gap on current Elite League leaders, Coventry Bees.
Ford, who was furious with Monday’s display, has issued a warning to some of his riders, claiming; “Monday night was simply an unacceptable effort in my book and has left me considering options if we are to be absolutely serious about making it three straight league itles, which has been my aim from the very outset.”
The Pirates will be determined not to let their off-track problems affect their performance on the night, after further developments have arose surrounding the Coventry Bees vs Poole Pirates meeting earlier this month .
Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten, who was ecstatic about Monday’s win, said; “Our away form overall this season has been extremely disappointing, but hopefully we can come to the party at Poole and get something.”
Our Prediction: Poole victory
Kings Lynn Vs Belle Vue Aces
Like Poole, Kings Lynn will be looking to put their last meeting behind them as they lost 55-35 in Manchester against the Aces.
In a meeting between 3rd and 4th in the Elite League, both sides will be hoping to secure the points, but the Kings Lynn Stars remain unbeaten at the Adrian Flux Arena all season.
The hosts will also be boosted by the news that Robert Lambert is back from injury, but reserve Lewis Kerr will be replaced by Adam Roynon after he crashed in Monday’s meeting.
King’s Lynn boss Rob Lyon said: “Hopefully Robert will be back from his crash at Berwick a couple of weeks ago and we will be back to full strength to see off the Aces.”
Despite the Stars’ home advantage, Aces skipper Scott Nicholls, who earned 13 points in Monday’s win, said; “It’s no secret that King’s Lynn are a strong team at home but there’s nothing to suggest we can’t push them as hard on this occasion as we did the first time we visited Norfolk in April.”
Our Prediction: Kings Lynn victory
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