Gloucester vs Bath

Kickoff: 7:45pm, Friday 23rd January

Venue: Kingsholm

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Key to the game: Can Charlie Atkinson keep up with Finn Russell? Gloucester have struggled across the board this season but one of their biggest issues has been the fly-half position. Irish international Ross Byrne was signed in the summer to replace Gareth Anscombe and has struggled to adapt to life in the Prem. Meanwhile Atkinson, who is now a capped England international, has shown serious promise in limited opportunities at his natural position. If he can play to his potential, Gloucester can climb the table very quickly. However, his job this weekend will be very tricky up against Finn Russell. The Scot is a world-class fly-half who could easily dominate this game with his superior supporting cast. This is a big chance for Atkinson to prove himself and Gloucester will be hoping that he is successful.

Prediction: Bath win

Team news

Gloucester

Starting XV

1.Val Rapava Ruskin 2.Will Crane 3.Afo Fasogbon 4.Deian Gwynne 5.Matias Alemanno

6.James Venter 7.Lewis Ludlow 8.Will Trenholm 9.Tomos Williams(C) 10.Charlie Atkinson

11.Ollie Thorley 12.Seb Atkinson 13.Josiah Edwards Giroud 14.Josh Hathaway 15.George Barton

Bench

16.George Knowles 17.Ciaran Knight 18.Kirill Gotovtsev 19.Cam Jordan

20.Jack Mann 21.Mikey Austin 22.Ross Byrne 23.Jack Cotgreave

Bath

Starting XV

1.Francois van Wyk 2.Dan Frost 3.Archie Griffin 4.Ted Hill 5.Quinn Roux

6.Josh Bayliss 7.Ethan Staddon 8.Arthur Green 9.Ben Spencer(C) 10.Finn Russell

11.Will Muir 12.Max Ojomoh 13.Chris Harris 14.louie Hennessey 15.Santi Carreras

Bench

16.Kepu Tuipulotu 17.Beno Obano 18.Thomas Du Toit 19.Charlie Ewels

20.Guy Pepper 21.Bernard van der Linde 22.Henry Arundell 23.Sam Underhill

Saracens vs Newcastle Red Bulls

Kickoff: 3pm, Saturday 24th January

Venue: StoneX Stadium

Watch on: Discovery plus

Key to the game: Can Saracens' stars take over? The past couple of days have brought the news that Jamie George will retire at the end of next season and Mark McCall will step down at the end of this one. This will surely be the final chapter in the story of one of the greatest teams in the history of European domestic rugby. With that in mind, this has to be the moment for those remaining, particularly Owen Farrell, to take over this team and get them going properly for a final push under Mark McCall.

Prediction: Saracens win

Team news

Saracens

Starting XV

1.Rhys Carre 2.Jamie George 3.Marco Riccioni 4.Nick Isiekwe 5.Hugh Tizard

6.Theo McFarland 7.Andy Onyeama-Christie 8.Tom Willis 9.Charlie Bracken 10.Owen Farrell(C)

11.Rotimi Segun 12.Nick Tompkins 13.Alex Lozowski 14.Noah Caluori 15.Elliot Daly

Bench

16.James Hadfield 17.Eroni Mawi 18.Tietie Tuimauga 19.Harry Wilson

20.Juan Martin Gonzalez 21.Ivan van Zyl 22.Fergus Burke 23.Max Malins

Newcastle Red Bulls

Starting XV

1.Murray McCallum 2.George McGuigan(C) 3.Richard Palframan 4.Oscar Ushe 5.Jamie Hodgson

6.Tom Gordon 7.Tom Christie 8.Freddie Lockwood 9.Simon Benitez Cruz 10.Brett Connon

11.Elliott obatoyinbo 12.Sammy Arnold 13.Alex Hearle 14.Christian Wade 15.Ethan Grayson

Bench

16.Ollie Fletcher 17.Adam Brocklebank 18.Luan de Bruin 19.Finn Baker

20.Reuben Parsons 21.James Elliott 22.Cameron Hutchinson 23.Oli Spencer

Exeter Chiefs vs Bristol Bears

Kickoff: 3pm, Saturday 24th January

Venue: Sandy Park

Watch on: Discovery Plus

Key to the game: Can Exeter's midfield deal with van Rensburg and Moroni? Henry Slade is obviously an excellent centre but he is not the most physical. That's why he pairs so well with Ikitau. In this game he will be alongside Haydon-Wood who usually plays at 10 or 15. Needless to say, he isn't much of a replacement for Ikitau. This gives Bristol a significant advantage on paper with their physical duo. Bernhard Janse van Rensburg will be very excited looking at this duo.

Prediction: Bristol win

Team news

Exeter Chiefs

Starting XV

1.Scott Sio 2.Joseph Dweba 3.Bachuki Tchumbadze 4.Dadydd Jenkins(C) 5.Andrea Zambonin

6.Tom Hooper 7.Ethan Roots 8.Greg Fisilau 9.Charlie Chapman 10.Harvey Skinner

11.Paul Brown-Bampoe 12.Will Haydon-Wood 13.Henry Slade 14.Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 15.Olly Woodburn

Bench

16.Jack Yeandle 17.Will Goodrick-Clarke 18.Jimmy Roots 19.Lewis Pearson

20.Richard Capstick 21.Tom Cairns 22.Ben Hammersley 23.Campbell Ridl

Bristol Bears

Starting XV
1.Ellis Genge 2.Gabriel Oghre 3.George Kloska 4.Pedro Rubiolo 5.Joe Batley 

6.Steven Luatua 7.Fitz Harding(C) 8.Viliame Mata 9.Harry Randall 10.Tom Jordan

11.Kalaveti Ravouvou 12.Bernhard Janse van Rensburg 13.Matias Moroni 14.Noah Heward 15.Louis Rees-Zammit

Bench

16.Harry Thacker 17.Max Lahiff 18.Jimmy Halliwell 19.Joe Owen 

20.Santiago Grondona 21.Kieran Marmion 22.James Williams 23.Gabriel Ibitoye

Harlequins vs Leicester Tigers

Kickoff: 3:05pm, Saturday 24th January

Venue: The Twickenham Stoop

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Key to the game: Can Marcus Smith will his team to another victory? Despite the disappointing start to the season, Marcus Smith has picked his form back up and is now driving their success in Europe. Now he is lining up beside the exciting Lucas Friday, this is the time for Smith to make his claim for the England shirt.

Prediction: Harlequins win

Team news

Harlequins

Starting XV

1.Simon Kerrod 2.Jack Walker 3.Pedro Delgado 4.Kieran Treadwell 5.Guido Petti

6.Chandler Cunningham-South 7.Jack Kenningham 8.Alex Dombrandt(C) 9.Lucas Friday 10.Marcus Smith

11.Cadan Murley 12.Bryn Bradley 13.Luke Northmore 14.Nick David 15.Tyrone Green

Bench

16.Sam Riley 17.Will Hobson 18.Harry Williams 19.Elliot Williams

20.Seb Driscoll 21.Tom Lawday 22.Max Green 23.Jarrod Evans

Leicester Tigers

Starting XV

1.Nicky Smith 2.Charlie Clare 3.Joe Heyes 4.Cameron Henderson 5.Ollie Chessum

6.Hanro Liebenberg 7.Tommy Reffell 8.Emeka Ilione 9.Jack van Poortvliet 10.Billy Searle

11.Ollie Hassell-Collins 12.Orlando Bailey 13.Will Wand 14.Gabriel Hamer-Webb 15.Freddie Steward

Bench

16.Jamie Blamire 17.Archie van der Flier 18.Will Hurd 19.Joaquin Moro

20.Olly Cracknell 21.Ollie Allan 22.James O'Connor 23.Izaia Perese

Sale Sharks vs Northampton Saints

Kickoff: 5:30pm, Saturday 24th January

Venue: Corpacq Stadium

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Key to the game: Will Sale's lack of depth in the pack be their undoing once again? Sale are without Opoku-Fordjour and Cowan-Dickie as well as a few others. Despite this, their starting XV is strong. It is their bench where the problems arise. In comparison, Fischetti and Pollock are waiting to wreck havoc against a tiring Sale side. The Saints are without Fin Smith, but the performance of Anthony Belleau so far should reassure Northampton fans.

Predicted winner: Sale Sharks

Team news

Sale Sharks 

Starting XV

1.Bevan Rodd 2.Nathan Jibulu 3.James Harper 4.Ernst van Rhyn(C) 5.Ben Bamber 

6.Jacques Vermeulen 7.Sam Dugdale 8.Tom Curry 9.Raffi Quirke 10.George Ford

11.Alex Wills 12.Rekeiti Ma'asi-White 13.Rob du Preez 14.Tom O'Flaherty 15.Joe Carpenter

Bench

16.Ethan Caine 17.Simon Mcintyre 18.Patreece Bell 19.Tom Burrow

20.Jos Gilmore 21.Gus Warr 22.Marius Louw 23.Arron Reed

Northampton Saints

Starting XV

1.Emmanuel Iyogun 2.Robbie Smith 3.Trevor Davison 4.Alex Coles 5.JJ van der Mescht

6.Josh Kemeny 7.Tom Pearson 8.Callum Chick 9.Alex Mitchell 10.Anthony Belleau

11.Edoardo Todaro 12.Fraser Dingwall(C) 13.Rory Hutchinson 14.Tommy Freeman 15.George Hendy

Bench

16.Craig Wright 17.Danilo Fischetti 18.Elliot Millar-Mills 19.Ed Prowse

20.Tom Lockett 21.Henry Pollock 22.Archie McParland 23.George Furbank