Leicester Tigers host Newcastle Falcons in the third round of the Premiership Rugby Cup at Mattioli Woods Welford Road this Wednesday evening (7.00pm).
Tigers opened the campaign with a losing point in defeat at Sale Sharks before beating Wasps in Round 2 with five tries in a 38-17 victory in Pool 2.
Sharks lead the pool with seven points but their Round 3 fixture away to Wasps has been cancelled. Tigers are on six points with this home date against Newcastle followed by a trip to Saracens on Saturday, November 19.
Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester are the leaders of Pool 1 after wins in their only game so far, while London Irish and Northampton Saints occupy the top places in Pool 3.
All teams play four games in the pool stages with the three pool winners and highest-ranked second-placed team progressing to the semi-finals.
In team news, Tigers make two changes to the starting line-up from the win in Round 2, with Kini Murimurivalu at full-back and Tom Manz in the second row.
Brett Deacon leads the coaching team in this competition, said: “No matter what team goes out to represent Leicester Tigers, we want to see a group that is going to fight for one another and work hard.”
Falcons, who have visited Leicester in pre-season and in league action already during this campaign, hand the captaincy to former Tigers scrum-half Michael Young and include the experience of Alex Tait, George Wacokecoke and fly-half Tian Schoeman in their line-up.
The coaching team is led by head of academy James Ponton who said: “Premiership Cup games are a great platform for guys to come in and get a taste of it. We find they bridge the gap very quickly once they’re exposed to it, but in practical terms it’s really hard finding other ways to get that experience into them.
“We are going to Leicester with a strong side, and it’s great to have plenty of experience in there as well as a number of our promising young players. The experience the lads get from it will be massive.”
There is no live TV coverage of this fixture. If you are not attending the game, you can follow updates on the Matchday Live on the club website and app, or on the Tigers social media channels.
This match is included in season tickets, with all supporters housed in the Yodel Stand and Breedon Stand Terrace only. Season ticket holders in any other are should contact the ticket office by phoning 0166 319 8888 (option 2) to arrange a transfer.
For a full Matchday Guide, click here.
Round 3:
Result: Northampton 49-29 Harlequins, Saracens 26-43 London Irish
Tuesday: Wasps v Sale Sharks OFF
Wednesday: Leicester Tigers v Newcastle Falcons (7.00pm), Bath Rugby v Bristol Bears (7.45pm), Worcester Warriors v Exeter Chiefs OFF
