Melton clubs set for Leicestershire County League kick-off

Barkby United and Syston Town again lead the charge in the Premier Division following ninth and seventh-place finishes, respectively, in 2018.

United travel to 2017 champions Sileby Town, while Syston open at home to Kegworth (12.30pm starts).

It should be an intriguing season for crosstown rivals Egerton Park and Thorpe Arnold in Division Two following their near-misses with promotion last summer.

Park occupied a place in the top three for much of the season only to miss out on the second promotion place by virtue of games won after tying with second-placed Hinckley.

Thorpe Arnold finished just behind in fourth after a sensational turnaround in fortunes.

They spent much of the first half of the season at the bottom, but the all-round heroics of Myles Hickman helped spark a stunning run of wins which put them in contention in the final months before settling for a fourth-place finish.

Thorpe open at home to Broomleys on Saturday while Park make the short trip to Billesdon (1pm starts), and the two clubs meet for their derby clashes on June 15 and August 17.

Melton Mowbray begin their campaign on the road at Barwell, hoping to complement their refurbished clubhouse with some success on the pitch.

Mowbray hinted at a possible promotion bid earlier in the season before fading slightly to sixth.

This season they will one again face local derbies with Barkby and Syston’s Second XI.

Queniborough will hope to go one better after finishing second in Division Four East last season, missing out on promotion to champions Ketton Sports. They begin at Langtons Second XI.