PETERBOROUGH are out to exorcise their East of England Showground demons tonight.

The 'T Balfe Construction' Panthers entertain Rye House in their final home meeting of the regular Premier League season (7.30pm).

It is a must-win clash for Peterborough if they are to stand any chance to clawing their way back into the play-off places - and it could also be the final opportunity of 2016 to show they can perform on their own shale.

Panthers have lost seven home meetings this season with five of those defeats coming in the league - results which have been a major factor in their nosedive out of the top six.

Promoter Ged Rathbone admitted: “It is getting to the point where I really don’t know what to say about our 2016 season . . .

“We’ve done all we can to strengthen the team, we’ve carried out a lot of work on the track, but we just can’t seem to be able to pick up results at home.

“Only the top two teams in the table – Somerset and Glasgow – can boast better away records than us.

“But we have frequently let ourselves down at the Showground and that is the reason why our play-off fate is no longer in our own hands.

“We need to forget about the bigger picture tonight and put all our focus on simply winning a speedway meeting.

“If we can do that, we will climb back into the top six and shift a bit of pressure back onto the other teams fighting to make it.”

Peterborough go into battle sitting two points outside the play-off zone, but they will climb up to fifth – leapfrogging both Ipswich and Sheffield – with a win tonight.

They will have to do it without number one Craig Cook, who is unavailable due to an Elite League fixture clash.

Redcar racer Lasse Bjerre steps in as a guest and will feature alongside elder brother, Kenneth, in the Panthers septet.

The bottom-of-the-table visitors will also have a guest at number one tonight – and it is also a familiar face.

The in-form Michael Palm Toft steps in for the Rockets after Edward Kennett was ruled out with a knee injury.

TEAMS

PETERBOROUGH ‘T BALFE CONSTRUCTION’ PANTHERS: Kenneth Bjerre, Lasse Bjerre (guest), Richard Hall, Danny Halsey, Zdenek Holub, Ulrich Ostergaard, Anders Thomsen.

RYE HOUSE: Rob Branford, Cameron Heeps, Leigh Lanham, Kasper Lykke, Ben Morley, Stuart Robson, Michael Palm Toft (guest).