- The LV= Cup second round kicks off as Sale host Leeds on Friday night
- Big round one winners Worcester travel to Scarlets, while Leicester host Newport
Guinness Premiership and Magners League sides are in LV= Cup second round action this weekend. Please see previews below and for a full statistical preview and look back at round one, download the LV= Cup Round Two Bulletin (PDF 209kB).
Sale Sharks v Leeds Carnegie
The home side has won the last five matches that Sale have played. The Sharks have won just one of their last eight Anglo-Welsh tournament ties: 25-10 at home to Bath on November 2, 2007.
Leeds Carnegie have won three of their last four games in all competitions. Leeds’ 28-17 LV= Cup victory over Leicester Tigers was their first victory in the history of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Leeds have never beaten Sale in 15 previous encounters and have gained just one draw: 29-all at Headingley in the Guinness Premiership on September 20, 2002.
Scarlets v Worcester Warriors
Scarlets have lost just one of their last five matches: 10-16 at Connacht in the Magners League on October 30. The Welshmen have also won four of their last five games at Parc y Scarlets. Scarlets have also won all six previous home matches they have played in the history of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Worcester Warriors’ only away win in their last six trips was 38-5 against Olympus Madrid in the European Challenge Cup on October 17. The Warriors have won just one of their four previous encounters with Welsh teams: 23-10 at home to Newport Gwent Dragons on December 2, 2006.
Bath Rugby v Ospreys
Bath Rugby have won just one of their last eleven matches in all competitions and have not won at the Rec so far this season. They have, however, won two of their last three matches against Welsh opponents.
Ospreys are now winless in their last three encounters in all competitions following their narrow 17-19 home defeat to Northampton in the LV= Cup last Thursday, their third straight Anglo-Welsh cup defeat.
The two teams have met twice before, both in this competition in October 2005 and October 2006 with each side winning once away from home.
Northampton Saints v Saracens
Northampton Saints have won their last nine home matches at Franklin’s Gardens since Newcastle won there, 19-13, in the Premiership on February 28. The Saints have suffered just one previous home defeat in the history of the Anglo-Welsh tournament: 12-24 against Worcester on September 30, 2006.
Saracens have lost just one of their ten matches played so far this season in all competitions: 23-31 in Toulon in the European Challenge Cup on October 16.
The two teams have already met once this season in the Premiership with Saracens victorious 19-16 on September 12.
Leicester Tigers v Newport Gwent Dragons
Leicester Tigers are unbeaten in their last twenty matches at Welford Road in all competitions since Wasps won there in the Guinness Premiership on September 26, 2008. The Tigers have also never lost a home game in the Anglo-Welsh tournament, winning all six so far.
Leicester have not beaten a Welsh side for four matches, while a team from Wales has not won at Welford Road against the Tigers since 1988.
Newport Gwent Dragons have won three of their last four matches in all competitions, but have not been victorious in 13 previous visits to England.
The Dragons and the Tigers have met on four previous occasions with the men from Gwent victorious just once: 24-15 at Rodney Parade in 2005.
Newcastle Falcons v Harlequins
Newcastle’s 6-32 defeat to Worcester in the LV= Cup on Saturday ended a four game winning run. The Falcons have now lost their last five games in the Anglo-Welsh tournament since a 29-24 home victory over the Dragons on November 3, 2007.
Harlequins 15-all draw at home to Scarlets on Sunday in the LV= Cup made it two successive ties for the Londoners.
The teams have met once before in the Anglo-Welsh tournament, on 2 December 2006 when the Falcons won 21-18 at Kingston Park. Quins have not won at Kingston Park since a 14-3 victory in the Premiership on 10 November 2006.
London Wasps v Gloucester Rugby
London Wasps have lost just one of their last six matches, going down 15-9 at home to Leeds on November 1. Following Wasps’ 24-20 victory at London Irish in the LV= Cup on Sunday, they have now won their last three Anglo-Welsh matches.
Gloucester Rugby have lost their last five games in all competitions, while Gloucester’s only away victory in 2009 was 26-10 at Leeds in the Premiership on October 4.
The two teams have already met this season with Wasps winning 35-6 at Kingsholm in the Premiership on October 24.
Cardiff Blues v London Irish
Cardiff Blues have won two of their last three and have also won three of their last four at the City Stadium. The reigning Anglo-Welsh cup holders have won their last seven games in the competition, dating back to 2007.
London Irish have won just one of their last four matches but have lost just one of their last seven away games. The Exiles won their most recent away game in the tournament (32-17 at Quins) – their first ever Anglo-Welsh away win – to end a five game away losing streak. The teams have met twice before, with each side winning at home.