Leicester vs Bristol
Kickoff: 3:05pm Saturday TNT Sports
Team news
Leicester
1.Smith 2.Montoya(C) 3.Heyes 4.Henderson 5.Martin 6. Liebenberg 7.Reffell 8.Cracknell
9.Youngs 10.Pollard 11.Hassell-Collins 12.Kata 13.Wand 14.Bassett 15.Steward
16.Clare 17.Whitcombe 18.Hurd 19.Holloway 20.Ilione 21.Van Poortvliet 22.Shillcock 23.Woodward
Bristol
1.Genge 2.Oghre 3.Lahiff 4.Dun 5.Owen 6.Luatua 7.Harding(C) 8.Mata
9.Randall 10.MacGinty 11.Ibitoye 12.Van Rensburg 13.Ravouvou 14.Bates 15.Lane
16,Thacker 17.Woolmore 18.Kloska 19.Hodgson 20.B.Grondona 21.Marmion 22.Worsley 23.Elizalde
Both Chessums are unavailable but Leicester still have a strong pack. Ben Youngs gets a rare start ahead of Jack Van Poortvliet making an experienced halfback combination for the Tigers to go up against Randall and MacGinty. Bristol are still without Malins and Bates who are big misses in a game like this but will be confident of maintaining their early-season form. This game will be a clash of styles; the Bears play with a lot of structure but are arguably the most expansive team in the league whereas Leicester are much more focused on winning the physical battles in the pack and managing the game with structure on the back of it. The Bears have started spectacularly in the league but Leicester will be desperate to climb the table. Who will emerge victorious from this titanic tussle?
Prediction:
Leicester 23 vs 27 Bristol
Newcastle vs Bath
Kickoff: 5:30pm TNT Sports
Team news
Newcastle
1.McCallum 2.Blamire 3.Palframan 4.De Chaves 5.Mcdonald 6.Lockwood 7.Gordon 8.Chick(C)
9.Stuart 10.Connon 11.Stevenson 12.Hutchison 13.Hearle 14.Radwan 15.Redshaw
16.Fletcher 17.Rewcastle 18.Hancock 19.Van Der Walt 20.Leatherbarrow 21.O'Sullivan 22.Wilkinson 23.Spencer
Bath
1.Van Wyck 2.Dunn 3.Stuart 4.Roux 5.Ewels 6.Bayliss 7.Pepper 8.Barbeary
9.Spencer(C) 10.Russell 11.Muir 12.Redpath 13.Lawrence 14.Cokanasiga 15.De Glanville
16.Annett 17.Obano 18.Du Toit 19.Hill 20.Underhill 21.Carr Smith 22.Butt 23.Coetzee
Newcastle will be looking to continue their strong home form, claiming Saracens as their most recent scalp. This time around, they face perhaps their toughest task yet - beating Bath. Ethan Grayson is not in the squad for the Falcons. He was crucial in providing more structure and control to Newcastle's game. In his place is Ben Redshaw, an exciting young, traditional fullback who will have a tough task on his hands on Saturday. Bath have picked a strong team for this game. They will have seen what happened to Saracens recently and know that Newcastle are not a team to be taken lightly. The Bath bench is ominous with Obano, Hill and Underhill ready to make an impact should Newcastle still be in the game on hour mark.
Prediction:
Newcastle 6 vs 34 Bath
Sale vs Exeter
Kickoff: 5:30pm Saturday TNT Sports
Team news:
Sale
1.Rodd 2.Cowan-Dickie 3.Opoku-Fudjour 4.Van Rhyn 5.Hill 6. JL Du Preez 7.B.Curry 8.D.Du Preez
9.Quirke 10.Ford 11.Reed 12.James 13.R.Du Preez 14.Roebuck 15.Carpenter
16.Mcelroy 17.Mcintyre 18.John 19.Bamber 20.Dugdale 21.Warr 22.Nayacalevu 23.O'Flaherty
Exeter
1.Sio 2.Frost 3.Street 4.Jenkins(C) 5.Molina 6.Roots 7.Vintcent 8.Fisilau
9.Townsend 10.Slade 11.Woodburn 12.Tua 13.Hammersley 14.Feyi-Waboso 15.Wyatt
16.Innard 17.Blose 18.Roots 19.Capstick 20.Vermeulen 21.Becconsall 22.Haydon-Wood 23.Hodge
Raffi Quirke gets a rare start ahead of Gus Warr on Saturday, he will partner George Ford. All three Du Preez's start in a strong Sale line-up which presents a mighty challenge to the winless Chiefs. The Chiefs will be boosted by the return of Daffyd Jenkins who has missed a chunk of the season already. The Chiefs have opted for a heavyweight pack in order to compete with the Sharks' physicality. Henry Slade starts at fly-half once again in a move that seems to be solidified for the foreseeable future. He will face England teammate George Ford who has much more experience at the position but Slade's know-how gives Exeter their best chance of finally winning a game this season.
Prediction:
Sale 23 vs 14 Exeter
Saracens vs Northampton
Kickoff: 3pm Sunday TNT Sports
Team news:
Saracens
1.Carre 2.Dan 3.Balmain 4.Itoje(C) 5.Mcfarland 6.Gonzalez 7.Earl 8.Willis
9.Van Zyl 10.Burke 11.Williams 12.Tompkins 13.Cinti 14.Elliot 15.Daly
16.George 17.Brantingham 18.Clarey 19.Wilson 20.Knight 21.Simpson 22.Lozowski 23.Jackson
Northampton
1.Iyogun 2.C.Langdon 3.Davison 4.Lockett 5.Munga 6.Coles(C) 7.Pearson 8.Augustus
9.Mitchell 10.Smith 11.Ramm 12.Hutchison 13.Litchfield 14.Freeman 15.Hendy
16.B.Langdon 17.Haffar 18.Millar-Milla 19.Mayanavanu 20.Pollock 21.Mcparland 22.Dingwall 23.Sleightholme
Liam Willians makes his Saracens return having been out in Japan. He starts on the wing. Theo Dan starts ahead of England captain Jamie George who is on the bench. Williams is joined by fellow Welshman Nick Tompkins who pushes Lozowski to the bench to claim the 12 shirt. Northampton are in need of a big win given their mixed start to the season and a win away at Saracens would galvanise the club for the second half of the season. Mitchell is fit and starts with Smith. Unfortunately for Saints and England fans, George Furbank has suffered a fairly significant injury which has put his availability for the six nations in doubt so George Hendy starts at fullback on Sunday.
My Prediction:
Saracens 32 vs 28 Northampton.
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