Monarchs have seen off strong challenges to their unbeaten home Premier League record from the likes of Workington, Newcastle, and most recently Hull. They may have been foorgiven for thinking that they were set fair for a 100% home record. This is especially the case with the four teams yet to visit Armadale, Swindon, Exeter, Berwick, and Stoke, all having dismal Armadale records in recent years.
However, Swindon Robins come to Armadale in blistering form. They secured a good win at Newport on Sunday by 50 points to 40 and followed this up with an incredible 58 points to 32 win at Reading on Monday.
Swindon recieved a serious mauling in their only previous visit to Armadale last year but they cannot be taken lightly. They have three real Armadale specialists in their line-up notably guest André Compton, Neil Collins, and Martin Dixon. Collins won the first ever heat at Armadale in 1997 and has picked up decent scores ever since for Glasgow, Stoke, and Swindon plus other teams he has guested for. Martin Dixon was the first visitor to pick up a maximum at Armadale when riding for Long Eaton. Compton has racked up big scores for Sheffield, Newcastle and as a guest for Newport at Armadale. He has also provided entertainment and controversy in equal measure.
of the rest of the Swindon team, Paul Fry has always struggled at Armadale although he was a fair performer at Powderhall. Claus Kristensen is another Armadale underachiever from his time with Berwick last year. The real enigma is Oliver Allen who for some reason has also struggled in numerous visits to Armadale. The final member of the team is resrve Mark Steel who is yet to ride at Armadale but picked up a full maximum at Reading last Monday.
The structure of the Robins team is similar to that of Hull, who pushed Monarchs very close a couple of weeks ago. They have no out and out number one but score all the way down to number seven and have a very strong middle order. If the Edinburgh middle order, notably Kevin Little, Ross Brady and Blair Scott, are in decent form, then Monarchs should be set for a big win. The target of a 55-35 win to take the bonus point could be within Monarchs' grasp. If, on the other hand, the home middle order are not riding well then a close result should be expected and an away win is certainly possible.
EDINBURGH FORTH AM MONARCHS: Robert Eriksson, Blair Scott, Peter Carr (capt.), Ross Brady, Kevin Little, Will Beveridge, Christian Henry.
SWINDON SOFT WATER ROBINS: André Compton (guest), Martin Dixon, Neil Collins, Claus Kristensen, Paul Fry, Oliver Allen, Mark Steel.
Compton comes in as a guest replacement for Frank Smart who is currently serving a one-year ban after testing positive for amphetamines.
Swindon are set to eliminate Exeter from the Premier League Cup if they can overturn a two point deficit from the County Ground leg in the semi-final. Swindon were recently defeated by Hull in the Premier National Trophy semi-final.
Swindon certainly look a fair bet for the Premier League title. Their weekend Scottish tour should go a long way to resolving this issue. They will certainly be looking to win at Berwick on Saturday and at Glasgow on Sunday both on tracks where they ought to excel. They will be looking for a minimum of the bonus point at Armadale on Friday if not a win. The tour could net Swindon a possible nine points that would leave the other challengers flat footed. Monarchs will be looking for a win and the bonus point to help towards their own target of a top-four finish.