PETERBOROUGH complete their regular Championship campaign against Lakeside at Rye House on Saturday with the fight for top spot still very much on.
The meeting is the second half of a double-header in the Hammers’ debut at their new home, as they take on Newcastle in the first fixture.
Should Lakeside win that meeting, then Panthers will require a match point to finish above the Hammers in the table, as if they end with nothing they will be behind their hosts on race-points difference.
A point would take Panthers onto 42 points, which would force Workington to win at Newcastle on Sunday to pip them – whilst a win would mean Panthers cannot be caught.
Ben Barker and Jordan Stewart are again expected to take guest bookings for the visitors, pending a check on Stewart following his fall at Workington on Friday, and Carl Wilkinson takes the other reserve position.
Lakeside operate rider-replacement for Kyle Newman but may also be forced into a change at reserve as Zach Wajtknecht crashed out of the last-ever meeting at Purfleet on Friday.
With Lakeside v Newcastle starting at 7pm, the Panthers match is expected to get underway at around 8.45pm.
Boss Carl Johnson said: “We’ve got to turn the corner again, and get everything back to how it was. We’ve gone well at Rye House in the past, but we have to expect that the Lakeside boys will go well there as well.
“We certainly need to improve our form at the moment because this is the really important time, and it looks like we’re going to need at least a point there if we’re going to finish top.
“I think Jordan will be okay, I’ll be speaking to him again but I know he wants to ride, and he’s already told me he wants to be there.
“He took a bang to the calf which gave him a bit of a dead leg but hopefully he’ll be fine, and we certainly hope that’s the case.”
LAKESIDE: Richard Lawson, Kyle Newman R/R, Adam Ellis, Ben Morley, Nick Morris, Zach Wajtknecht (tbc), Alfie Bowtell. PETERBOROUGH: Ben Barker, Emil Grondal. Bradley Wilson-Dean, Michael Palm Toft, Ulrich Ostergaard, Jordan Stewart, Carl Wilkinson.
