Edinburgh Monarchs v Newcastle Diamonds

Edinburgh started this match with two 5-1s and there was never much doubt that they would record their 13th successive victory of the season.

Newcastle had four very competitive riders who were always worth watching, but the absence of two other team members left them exposed with inexperienced tail-enders. That meant they only had a handful of potential heat advantages.

Danny King looked slightly reserved and was passed in the opening heat by Justin Sedgmen before he fell. His tactical ride was thwarted by the lively Max Fricke and it was as if his high average was weighing him down.

The Robson – Kerr pairing delivered a great amount of entertainment and there won't be many livelier duos in the division. They should have had a 5-1 in heat 3 but Kerr spun off.

Ludvig Lindgren didn't gate well and had to take one ride off 15 metres, but he was by no means disappointing.

However the home side had too much overall strength. Craig Cook dropped just one point, to Robson in heat 10 after he had to spend the first couple of laps battling past Kerr. Indeed even after Cook was in second he could not concentrate on chasing the leader because Kerr was still a threat.

Max Fricke had an excellent match after a fortunate second in heat 3. He beat King, won heat 9 and joined Steve Worrall in a heat 12 win over Robson which was the best race of the night. Goodness knows how the Monarchs' pair managed to get the better of their experienced opponent oin the first lap, after all three had charged level into the third corner.

The young Aussie is getting the hang of using the grip on the inside of the fourth bend, though he did lift a couple of times, and this was what cost him in heat 15.

Steve Worrall was again excellent, so was Justin Sedgmen, birthday boy Sam Masters won his first two heats in fine style and to complete a very healthy picture in the home camp, Aaron Fox had his best score yet.

The American had declared himself fit in spite of a severely gashed leg in the match a week earlier, and he rode slightly cautiously in the early heats. However he was confident enough to sweep past Kerr in heat 14 and eventually combine with Captain Sneddon for a slightly surprising 5-1.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Newcastle Diamonds

The visitors to Armadale this Friday are the Newcastle Diamonds who are both attractive and dangerous opponents who could seriously threaten the Monarchs twelve-match unbeaten record, led by their newly signed British Elite League star, Danny King.

The Diamonds just weren't firing as well as everyone expected, so they took the drastic step of replacing two seven point riders, Christian Henry and Anton Rosen, with King who doubles down on 11.18 and Dan Greenwood who doubles up on an assessed 3.00.

So Craig Cook has some serious opposition at No. 1 this week and his clashes with Maidstone-born Danny King (27)who rides for Birmingham Brummies should be well worth the admission money and could go a long way to deciding the match result.

Justin Sedgmen has settled in seamlessly and impressively into the No.2 position where he faces one of UK speedway's young rising stars, Lewis Rose (24) from Berkshire who is one of the King's Lynn Stars' Fast Track reserves but who suffered a back injury last week.

Young Max Fricke at No.3 could hardly be facing a rider with more style and speedway experience than the Diamonds' captain Stuart Robson (37) from Sunderland, long-time Coventry Bee before moving on to Lakeside and who had a testimonial in 2004!

Monarchs' captain Derek Sneddon largely had a meeting to forget last week which ended under the air fence. His opposite number this week is the second of the King's Lynn Stars' Fast Track reserves, Lewis Kerr (24) in his second PL season after switching from MotoX in 2010.

Sam Masters looks more impressive every week after sitting out the 2013 season and he will have to be at his sharpest to match Newcastle's No.5, Ludvig Lindgren (23), son of a Swedish ice speedway rider and brother of Grand Prix star 'Fast Freddie'.

Crowd favourite, Aaron Fox, was so unfortunate to be injured last week just as things seemed to be coming together. If he is fit, his opposite number will be Dan Greenwood (20) from Gloucestershire who rode with Dudley in 2013 and has just been signed by Coventry, having struggled at Swindon.

Finally, what a pleasure it is for Monarchs to have a big points scorer at No.7 these days, Steve Worrall (Could you tell him apart from Richie?). With Chris Schramm out injured, the Diamonds have drafted in Luke Crang who fills the same slot for the Redcar Bears.

The new-look Diamonds line-up looks strong in the top five but inevitably looks to have a possible Achilles' heel in the reserve positions, so that's very much where Monarchs will look to assert their superiority. That's not to say they don't have a strong top five themselves!

Newcastle's main problems have been at home so far this year but they have a habit of showing up better away from home. They have silenced the terraces at the Scotwaste Arena more than once in recent seasons and they'd like nothing better than to be the first team to beat the 2014 Monarchs.

Diamonds have a lot to prove after a stunning and hurtful loss to Redcar at Brough Park last week so this should be a terrific speedway match between two fully committed teams. Monarchs will need all the support they can get, so come along and be the team's No.8 from the terraces. Tapes up 7.30 sharp.

Likely line-ups:

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Craig Cook, Justin Sedgmen, Max Fricke, Derek Sneddon (capt.), Sam Masters, Aaron Fox, Steve Worrall.

NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS: Danny King, Lewis Rose, Stuart Robson (capt.), Lewis Kerr, Ludvig Lindgren, Dan Greenwood, Luke Crang (guest).