Northampton Saints vs Bristol Bears

Kickoff: 7:45pm, Friday 15th May

Venue: Cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Round 16 of the Gallagher Prem will kick off on Friday night with a crucial game between Northampton Saints and Bristol Bears. The Saints still sit in 1st, with a 4-point gap to Bath in 2nd, but they were crushed by their rivals, Leicester, in an East Midlands derby last weekend. That result has left them still having to fight for a home semi-final and presumably a little rattled given the way they lost. Bristol, meanwhile, simply must win. They are 5 points behind Exeter in 4th and have a significantly worse points difference. After losing to Saracens last weekend, the Bears must bounce back before it's too late.

Neither team is at full strength but there are still some big battles to watch out for. In the front row, Ellis Genge will fancy his chances against Elliot Millar Mills but Kloska versus Iyogun will be fascinating on the other side of the scrum. Louis Rees-Zammit is back on the wing with Kalaveti Ravouvou which makes for an excellent match-up against Hendy and Freeman; that should be a very physical and aerial contest. 

The bench is where things could unravel for Bristol. The Bears had a thin squad at the start of the season so injuries have had a big impact. Their starting team still looks strong but their bench has nothing to match the likes of JJ van der Mescht, Danilo Fischetti and Tom Pearson. The Saints are also holding back England stars Mitchell and Dingwall for the final part of the game. I think that's enough to give the Saints the edge at home on Friday night.

Team news

Northampton Saints

Starting XV

1.Emmanuel Iyogun 2.Robbie Smith 3.Elliot Millar Mills 4.Alex Coles 5.Ed Prowse

6.Josh Kemeny 7.Henry Pollock 8.Callum Chick 9.Archie McParland 10.Fin Smith

11.George Hendy 12.Rory Hutchinson 13.Tom Litchfield 14.Tommy Freeman 15.George Furbank(C)

Bench

16.Henry Walker 17.Danilo Fischetti 18.Luke Green 19.JJ van der Mescht

20.Tom Pearson 21.Sam Graham 22.Alex Mitchell 23.Fraser Dingwall

Bristol Bears

Starting XV
1.Ellis Genge 2.Harry Thacker 3.George Kloska 4.James Dun 5.Joe Batley

6.Joe Owen 7.Fitz Harding(C) 8.Santiago Grondona 9.Harry Randall 10.Tom Jordan

11.Kalaveti Ravouvou 12.James Williams 13.Bernhard Janse van Rensburg 14.Louis Rees-Zammit 15.Rich Lane

Bench

16.Tomas Gwilliam 17.Jake Woolmore 18.Max Lahiff 19.George Taylor

20.Luka Ivanishvili 21.Kieran Marmion 22.Matias Moroni 23.Noah Heward

Bath vs Newcastle Red Bulls

Kickoff: 3pm, Saturday 16th May

Venue: The Recreation Ground

Watch on: TNT Sports / HBO 

This game looks, on paper, to be the least interesting of the weekend. Newcastle are still bottom of the table having been thumped by 9th-place Harlequins in their last game; Bath sit in 2nd and need to bounce back after a damaging defeat in their last game. The team selected by Johan van Graan is easily strong enough to brush aside the Red Bulls at home. With the playoff race heating up, this is Bath's best chance to earn a bonus point and pile up their points difference total.

As I said above, this Bath team is superior at every position with no real comparative weaknesses against Newcastle. Bath have international stars littered throughout this team and should be aiming for 60 points minimum. Newcastle have found going away from home to be particularly challenging and this game should be no different. I expect to win by a lot.

Team news

Bath

Starting XV
1.Beno Obano 2.Tom Dunn 3.Thomas du Toit 4.Ted Hill 5.Charlie Ewels

6.Josh Bayliss 7.Guy Pepper 8.Miles Reid 9.Ben Spencer(C) 10.Finn Russell

11.Henry Arundell 12.Cameron Redpath 13.Chris Harris 14.Joe Cokanasiga 15.Santi Carreras

Bench

16.Dan Frost 17.Francois van Wyk 18.Billy Sela 19.Ross Molony

20.Sam Underhill 21.Tom Carr-Smith 22.Max Ojomoh 23.Alfie Barbe

Newcastle Red Bulls

Starting XV
1.Connor Hancock 2.George McGuigan(C) 3.Murray McCallum 4.Freddie Clarke 5.John Hawkins

6.Adam Scott 7.Tom Christie 8.Fergus Lee-Warner 9.Simon Benitez Cruz 10.Brett Connon

11.Alex Hearle 12.Sammy Arnold 13.Rhys Beeckmans 14.Harrison Obatoyinbo 15.Josh Hodge

Bench

16.Ollie Fletcher 17.Jamie Clark 18.Adam Brocklebank 19.Jamie Hodgson

20.Amanaki Mafi 21.James Elliott 22.Ethan Grayson 23.Christian Wade

Harlequins vs Exeter Chiefs

Kickoff: 4pm, Saturday 16th May

Venue: The Twickenham Stoop

Watch on: TNT Sports 2

This is a potential banana skin game for Exeter, who shouldn't be letting their guard down after their loss to Gloucester. This week they are traveling to London to take on Harlequins, who are looking to build some late momentum after crushing Newcastle last weekend. 

The Chiefs are missing Greg Fisilau, Ethan Roots and Kane James and are going up against a very strong back-row group. Harlequins will have to win the battle in the engine room if they are to have any chance in this game and this injury news could help them do that.

However, there are plenty of areas in which Harlequins are relying on youth to beat experience to get them over the line. In the second row, Carr and Williams look massively out-matched by Zambonin and Jenkins whilst Exeter's centre partnership of Slade and Ikitau is much more accomplished than the duo of Bradley and Northmore. Marcus Smith is going to need to have one of his best games of the season to give his side a chance, and he'll be motivated to do so after the way he played in his team's defeat at Sandy Park earlier in the season. I think Exeter will have too much for Harlequins in this one.

Team news

Harlequins

Starting XV

1.Will Hobson 2.Sam Riley 3.Pedro Delgado 4.Zach Carr 5.Elliot Williams 

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

11.Cadan Murley 12.Bryn Bradley 13.Luke Northmore 14.Cameron Anderson 15.Jamie Benson

Bench

16.Jack Musk 17.Boris Wenger 18.Ollie Streeter 19.Jonny Green

20.Seb Driscoll 21.Will Evans 22.Will Porter 23.Rodrigo Isgro

Exeter Chiefs

Starting XV

1.Scott Sio 2.Max Norey 3.Josh Iosefa-Scott 4.Dafydd Jenkins(C) 5.Andrea Zambonin

6.Tom Hooper 7.Christ Tshiunza 8.Ross Vintcent 9.Stephen Varney 10.Harvey Skinner

11.Campbell Ridl 12.Len Ikitau 13.Henry Slade 14.Paul Brown-Bampoe 15.Olly Woodburn

Bench

16.Joseph Dweba 17.Ethan Burger 18.Bachuki Tchumbadze 19.Rusi Tuima

20.Finn Worley Brady 21.Tom Cairns 22.Will Haydon-Wood 23.Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Saracens vs Gloucester

Kickoff: 6:30pm, Saturday 16th May

Venue: StoneX Stadium

Watch on: TNT Sports / HBO 

This will be a battle between two, in-form teams. Saracens have won their previous 3 games against Bristol, Sale and Leicester. Gloucester have now earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season by beating Sale and Exeter. This game is another must-win for Saracens but it could go either way.

So, where is each team's advantage? Saracens' big strength is the back row, two of whom have announced their departures in the summer. Gloucester will be relying on their new-found strength at the scrum to give them an edge. Fasogbon versus Carre is some must-see TV. The midfield battle will also be interesting with Llewellyn and Atkinson becoming a key facet of the Gloucester set-up. Olly Hartley has taken Farrell's spot at inside centre and brings some more bulk to the position so his match-up against the also physical, Seb Atkinson is going to be another good watch. I think Saracens will just have a bit too much star power for Gloucester in this one.

Team news

Saracens

Starting XV
1.Rhys Carre 2.Jamie George 3.Marcus Street 4.Maro Itoje(C) 5.Nick Isiekwe

6.Theo McFarland 7.Ben Earl 8.Tom Willis 9.Charlie Bracken 10.Fergus Burke

11.Rotimi Segun 12.Olly Hartley 13.Nick Tompkins 14.Noah Caluori 15.Max Malins

Bench

16.Theo Dan 17.Eroni Mawi 18.Alec Clarey 19.Hugh Tizard 

20.Nathan Michelow 21.Ivan van Zyl 22.Owen Farrell 23.Tobias Elliott

Gloucester

Starting XV
1.Val Rapava Ruskin 2.Seb Blake 3.Afo Fasogbon 4.Arthur Clark(C) 5.Matias Alemanno

6.Freddie Thomas 7.James Venter 8.Will Trenholm 9.Caolan Englefield 10.Charlie Atkinson

11.Ben Loader 12.Seb Atkinson(C) 13.Max Llewellyn 14.Will Joseph 15.George Barton

Bench

16.Jack Innard 17.Dian Bleuler 18.Ciaran Knight 19.Danny Eite 

20.Deian Gwynne 21.Jack Clement 22.Mikey Austin 23.Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Sale Sharks vs Leicester Tigers

Kickoff: 3pm, Sunday 17th May

Venue: CorpAcq Stadium

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Sale are literally limping towards the end of the season whilst Leicester a sprinting. By beating their rivals Northampton last weekend, the Tigers have made a home semi-final a realisitc possibility and should be able to breeze past the Sharks to help secure it. Sale, meanwhile, are beginning to get some players back and will be hoping to build some confidence before the summer comes. They've also got a Champions Cup spot to cling onto so there is no lack of motivation Salford.

So where are the big battles? In the second row, Sale are helped by having a healthier back row which allows Ernst van Rhyn to play at lock. However, they will be up against Chessum and Martin who both looked incredible in their first game back together in more than a year when they took on Northampton. Billy Searle is still out so James O'Connor will start once again. His match-up against George Ford will be a true clash of styles. George Ford will also be central to the kicking battle which will see Roebuck and Carpenter take on Hassell-Collins and Steward in a clash of strengths. 

The real battle in this game will be up front and Sale are still missing lots of key front-row players. Leicester's forwards look much stronger on paper and should be enough to give their team a comfortable win on Sunday afternoon.

Team news

Sale Sharks

Starting XV

1.Asher Opoku-Fordjour 2.Alfie Longstaff 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.Tom O'Flaherty 12.Rekeiti Ma'asi-White 13.Luke James 14.Tom Roebuck 15.Joe Carpenter

Bench

16.Wills Austin 17.Ralph McEachran 18.Patreece Bell 19.Hyron Andrews

20.Seb Kelly 21.Gus Warr 22.Ollie Davies 23.Arron Reed

Leicester Tigers

Starting XV

1.Nicky Smith 2.Jamie Blamire 3.Joe Heyes 4.George Martin 5.Ollie Chessum(C)

6.Hanro Liebenberg 7.Tommy Reffell 8.Joaquin Moro 9.Jack van Poortvliet 10.James O'Connor

11.Ollie Hassell-Collins 12.Orlando Bailey 13.Will Wand 14.Adam Radwan 15.Freddie Steward

Bench

16.Charlie Clare 17.Archie van der Flier 18.Will Hurd 19.Cameron Henderson

20.Olly Cracknell 21.Hamish Watson 22.Tom Whiteley 23.Solomone Kata