Edinburgh Monarchs v Peterborough Panthers

We've truly reached the sharp end of the season with Monarchs being forced, partly due to their phenomenally successful season so far and partly due to the weather, to race two huge matches at Armadale in one night tonight, a KO Cup semi-final first leg and a League Cup final second leg.

First up is a visit from the unlucky Newcastle Diamonds who may have been decimated by injuries but who still track enough quality performers to keep the scores sufficiently close to make for a tense and exciting deciding leg at Brough Park on Sunday.

Monarchs top five will be in for a really testing time against a visiting top four who have all shown their ability to win races at the Scotwaste Arena this year, namely Danny King, Stuart Robson, Theo Pijper and Ludvig Lindgren, with rider replacement operating at No.2.

As for the reserves, Aaron Fox and Derek Sneddon could hold the key to turning the match decisively in favour of the home side, although this week Simon Nielsen is joined by former Monarch, Max Dilger who is expected to be a stronger guest than Max Clegg would have been last Friday.

These are two well-matched sides known for producing close scoring matches on each others tracks, and this one is likely to be no different. But without T/R's in this competition, Monarchs should certainly be favourites to take a lead to Tyneside, hopefully one they can defend.

In the second match, Monarchs hope to capitalise on a fantastic League Cup first leg win at Peterborough against a Panthers side who will also arrive with a six-man side but in this case with only three of their own riders as opposed to Newcastle's four.

They are admirably led by Ulrich Ostergaard, a Danish rider with bags of Elite League experience who has already scorched around the shale of the Scotwaste Arena in impressive style this year. However, the absence of Richard Hall, Ales Dryml and Lasse Bjerre is a huge handicap.

Nevertheless, Aaron Summers, Adam Roynon and Kevin Doolan will be out to give their all, and with Max Dilger picking up where he left off paired with the highly impressive Alex Edberg, Monarchs will have their work cut out to match the Panthers at reserve.

This could be another close result, particularly if everything hasn't gone the way of the home side in the first match or if the track conditions prove to be a leveller. Monarchs will start as favourites but if they want to win the trophy, they'll have to be at their best all the way to heat 15.

This promises to be a huge night of speedway that should show off the very best the Premier League has to offer with nineteen riders representing three different sides all fired up for the occasion. It doesn't get any better, so make sure you don't miss a single second of the mail-biting action. Tapes up at 7.00 sharp.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Craig Cook, Justin Sedgmen, Max Fricke, Stevie Worrall, Sam Masters, Aaron Fox, Derek Sneddon (captain)

NEWCASTLE SAPPHIRE DIAMONDS: Danny King (captain), rider replacement for Lewis Rose, Stuart Robson, Theo Pijper (guest), Ludvig Lindgren, Simon Nielsen, Max Dilger (guest).

PETERBOROUGH PANTHERS: Aaron Summers (guest), Adam Roynon, Ulrich Ostergaard (captain), rider replacement for Richard Hall, Kevin Doolan (guest), Max Dilger, Alex Edberg (guest)