STOKE turn their attentions to the National League KO Cup on Saturday night as they entertain the Kent Kings at Loomer Road, 7pm.

The A.R. Richards Potters host the first leg with the second leg taking place at Central Park on Monday night.

The Potters welcome back Rob Shuttleworth back from injury while Josh Embleton who has recently had some good guest performances for other clubs comes in to replace William O’Keefe.

Kent have drafted in former Potter and Kings rider Ben Hopwood who made the switch back to the Isle of Wight over the winter as he replaces Jack Thomas who is riding for Championship club Glasgow with Nick Laurence coming in at reserve for the injured Jacob Clouting. The Kings are led by veteran racer Luke Bowen who will receive solid support from Hopwood and Nathan Stoneman while Anders Rowe could well be a handful with some good form over recent weeks and Taylor Hampshire completing the top five. Alex Spooner who had a few guest bookings for the Potters last season completes the Kings line-up as he joins Laurence at reserve.

Potters team manager Adam Isherwood commented “Kent are a very good side and we will need to hit the ground running on Saturday. They always seem to go well around here and we will give them the respect they deserve, but we do not fear them and will be looking to hit them hard early on and then look to maintain that and take a lead into the second leg on Monday. We are full of confidence after our wins in the last two outings we’ve had and will be looking to take that into the meeting on Saturday.”

STOKE: Max Clegg, Paul Burnett, Tony Atkin (Captain), Adam Extance, Rob Shuttleworth, Joe Alcock, Josh Embleton
KENT: Luke Bowen (Captain), Anders Rowe, Nathan Stoneman, Taylor Hampshire, Ben Hopwood, Nick Laurence, Alex Spooner