Friday 12th November 7:45pm Gloucester v London Wasps

Match of the weekend is the Friday night televised encounter between the fourth and third placed teams in the division, separated by only two bonus points.

Gloucester went down to their second league defeat of the season at Welford Road on Saturday. They return to fortress Kingsholm where they are unbeaten this season and they have only lost once in their last 34 league matches stretching back over three years.

Wasps are on a roll and have now won their last six league matches, although they were made to fight all the way on Friday when beating Harlequins by three points. Apart from the opening game defeat to Saracens at Twickenham, they have only lost one of their last 10 away league matches, and that was at Kingsholm on 1st May. Their away games this season have all been low scoring affairs and they have only scored four tries and conceded two, in the four matches played outside High Wycombe.

Gloucester have beaten Wasps for the last three seasons at Kingsholm and are tipped to continue their marvellous sequence of home victories on Friday.

Prediction: Gloucester to win by 5 points.

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Friday 12th November 7.45pm NEC Harlequins v Saracens

Harlequins host fellow London side Saracens at the Stoop on Friday night and this has surely got to be the day they finally record their first win of the season.

Although they haven’t anything to show for it, Harlequins have recently ran Newcastle, Gloucester, Leicester, Munster and Wasps close and this is a game they cannot afford to lose as they sit bottom of the league trailing Worcester by four points and Northampton by eight. They also have the worst attacking record in the division and have only scored nine tries in their eight games and have only managed to cross the opposition line once in the critical last 20 minutes.

Saracens lost 37-30 to Bath on Saturday but gained two bonus points for their efforts and moved to eighth position in the league. They have played three away games this season, losing two, but on their last away trip were unfortunate not to beat Newcastle and drew 20-20.

As Harlequins have only scored three tries at home this season and Saracens two tries away, this may not be the most high scoring of affairs. These games tend to go with home advantage. Harlequins have won five of the last six played at the Stoop including the last three and they should open their account on Friday

Prediction: NEC Harlequins to win by 5 points

Click here for NEC Harlequins vs SaracensMatch Scoreor First Score

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Saturday 13th November 12:30pm  Bath v Sale Sharks

A top clash at the Rec on Saturday sees fifth placed Bath entertain league leaders Sale.

Bath won a high scoring game against Saracens, gaining only their second bonus point this season in the process, at Northampton’s Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday. They beat Bourgoin last time at home in the Heineken Cup, but have lost two matches at the Rec this season, to Newcastle and Wasps, which is more than they lost at home during the whole of last season.

Sale have had a tremendous start to the season and their bonus point win against Newcastle on Friday night took them back to the top of the table. The have only lost one game so far, against London Irish, and they boast the tightest defence in the league having conceded only nine tries in their eight games. Furthermore, they have only conceded two tries in the second half of play and none in the last 20 minutes, which may be a reflection on their levels of fitness. They have won all three away games played, at Wasps, Leeds and Northampton.

Bath completed a league double over the Sharks last season. They have also only been beaten once by them at the Rec in the last 10 years. However, these games do tend to be close and Sale’s recent form may just see them through.

Prediction: Sale to win by 3 points.

Click here for Bath vs Sale Sharks Match Score or First Score

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Saturday 13th November 12:30pm Northampton Saints v London Irish

Northampton entertain London Irish on Saturday at Franklin’s Gardens trying to win a league game for the first time in seven matches, their worst run in the Premiership for ten years. 

It would have been impossible to predict that Northampton, sitting top of the league after two matches, with maximum points scoring ten tries, would, six rounds later, be lying in tenth position in the league, still with only two wins to their credit and adding only three tries to their tally in five games. After their successful European exploits over the past fortnight they returned to league rugby on Friday night and went down again, this time to Leeds at Headingley. Even at this relatively early stage of the season, their aspirations have probably changed from a top three play off place to qualifying for next season’s Heineken Cup.

London Irish jumped to seventh in the league courtesy of their 25-15 home victory against Worcester on Sunday. They have only won one away game from three this season and amazingly that was at the home of top of the table Sale Sharks. They will find it difficult on Saturday though as Northampton will be desperate to stop their dreadful run.

Although Northampton have the upper hand in this fixture over the years, London Irish have won the last two at Franklin’s Gardens and no doubt this will be a close encounter.

Prediction: Northampton to win by 8 points.

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Saturday 13th November 12:30pm Worcester v Leicester Tigers

Next to bottom Worcester return to Sixways to face next to top Leicester in what should be one of the most interesting clashes of the weekend.

Although they have only won one game this season, Worcester have equipped themselves well and apart from the thrashing at Sale, they have run most teams close in defeat. They lost by ten points on Sunday at London Irish but they are proving difficult to beat on their home patch.

Leicester got the poor performance against Biarritz out of their system with a good home win against Gloucester on Saturday. Apart from the opening day reversal at Sale, they still haven’t been beaten on their travels since last December. They have also scored more tries than any other team this season.

No history to report between these two sides but Leicester should be too strong for the Warriors.

Prediction: Leicester to win by 10 points.

Click here for Worcester vs Leicester Tigers Match Score or First Score

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Sunday 14th November 2:30pm Newcastle Falcons v Leeds Tykes

This is the Zurich Premiership’s North East derby as these two teams sitting in mid table go into battle on Sunday at Kingston Park. 

After their excellent start to this year’s European campaign, Newcastle lost at Sale in the league last Friday. They have not won any of their last five matches and slipped from fifth place in the league to ninth. Although they are the third highest try scorers in the division they have conceded more tries and more points than anybody else. They have still only managed one win, 22-21 against Harlequins, at Kinston Park, in 2004.

Leeds followed up wins against Worcester and London Irish with another home success on Friday night against Northampton. They have now risen to sixth place in the league and are attempting to win four consecutive matches in the Zurich Premiership for the first time.