GAVIN Hickie and Gary Trueman have been handed their first league starts of the season tonight as Warriors attempt to end Leicester's two-year unbeaten home Premiership record (7.45).

Nobody has emerged triumphant at Welford Road in the competition since Gloucester won there in January 2004 and Worcester's task will not be made any easier by the return of Tigers' international brigade, including England captain Martin Corry.

Worcester will have to make do without top try-scorer Aisea Havili who is suffering from a dead leg. His place on the wing is taken by Trueman.

Hickie, whose only previous start for Warriors came during their dead-rubber Powergen Cup match in Newport, replaces hooker Chris Fortey, who has been suffering from the effects of concussion.

Elsewhere, Shane Drahm is fit to start at fly-half despite limping off in Saturday's defeat against Sale and Tom Harding is retained at open-side.

Although they lost at Welford Road in the Powergen Cup, Worcester recorded their first win against Leicester at Sixways in November.

The players were shown a video of that triumph this week as part of their preparations and number eight Drew Hickey believes it was a useful exercise.

"It's something you have got to replicate," he said. "If you watch that game, it's just about putting teams under pressure.

"The more and more pressure you put them under the more likely you are to get penalties because they are a team that likes to play on the edge of the rules.

"If you can apply pressure that's basically how you beat Leicester."

And Hickey is looking forward to mixing it with the likes of Corry, Lewis Moody and Shane Jennings in the Leicester back row.

"It's another massive test," he said. "They don't come much bigger than what we've just come up against. Sale were a bit depleted but now we are going to play Leicester who have got all their players back.

"This is what you want, this is why you play. Good players will rise to that occasion.

"If we don't bring our A-game to Leicester with their full team, it's going to be a long night."

Warriors: Le Roux; Trueman, Rasmussen, Lombard, Tucker; Drahm, Gomarsall; Windo, Hickie, Taumoepeau, Murphy, Gillies, Horstmann, Harding, Hickey. Replacements: L Fortey, Van Niekerk, O'Donoghue, Vaili, Powell, Whatling, Hylton.