Another week of pulsating Gallagher Premiership action is just over the horizon and there are some cracking games in store. Fourth-placed Bristol and third-placed Exeter square off on Friday evening and second-placed Sale take on a highly entertaining London Irish outfit.
Friday 7 October
Bristol 8/18 | Draw 21/1 | Exeter Chiefs 21/20
We kick things off with arguably the pick of the week’s action as Bristol welcome the Exeter Chiefs to Ashton Gate.
Both sides have gotten their campaigns off to solid starts with the duo winning three of their opening four fixtures respectively.
In terms of their Round 4 results, the hosts suffered their first defeat of the campaign as they went down 30-15 to the Newcastle Falcons up north. Exeter also suffered their first defeat of the campaign as they went down 28-20 to the Sale Sharks.
A return to their stomping ground should see Bristol return to form.
Saturday 8 October
Leicester Tigers 36/100 | Draw 20/1 | Sale Sharks 23/10
Next up we’ve got the seventh placed Leicester Tigers taking on the second-placed Sale Sharks at Welford Road.
The hosts have endured a topsy-turvy start to their campaign beating Newcastle (36-21) and Northampton (21-41) while going down 24-20 to Exeter and 51-18 to Saracens.
Sale remain one of only two unbeaten teams in the league with the Sharks winning their opening three games. Their most recent victory was last weekend’s hard-fought 28-20 win over an in-form Exeter side.
While Sale are the form team here, I reckon Leicester will get the job done at home.
Bath 2/1 | Draw 25/1 | Gloucester 4/10
Next up it’s Bath versus Gloucester at The Rec. The hosts currently sit at the foot of the log having lost all four of their fixtures. They also have a points differential of -36 and come into this one off the back of a 47-38 to London Irish.
Gloucester have had a slightly better start to the campaign than their opponents for Saturday as they have won one of their opening two games. They gave a sold account of themselves in their last fixture as well going down 41-39 to Saracens in Northland courtesy of an injury time try.
Bath are really struggling at the moment and I think Gloucester could well run up a cricket score here.
Sunday 9 October
Newcastle Falcons 51/20 | Draw 25/1 | Saracens 32/100
The penultimate game of the weekend will see a red-hot Saracens side take on a Newcastle Falcons team that is on the up and up. While Sarries head into this one in buoyant mood, they will need to be wary as Kingston Park has been a graveyard for some big name teams during the early salvos of the campaign.
Both teams head into Sunday’s clash off the back of solid wins with Saracens hammering reigning champions Leicester 51-18 while Newcastle beat a bang in form Bristol Bear side 30-15.
While Newcastle have been a tough nut to crack up north, I reckon Saracens have the experience to grind out a win in tough conditions.
Wasps 79/100 | Draw 21/1 | Northampton Saints 11/10
It’s over to the Ricoh Arena next where tenth-placed Wasps will tackle eighth-placed Northampton.
Both sides have got off to sluggish starts winning only one of their respective fixtures. Wasps’ victory came in Round 3 where they beat struggling Bath 31-39, while Northampton’s win came in Round 2 where they beat an unpredictable London Irish side 38-22.
In terms of their Round 4 results, Northampton went down 35-29 away to Harlequins with a late flurry of Northampton tries not enough to change proceedings, while Wasps were on a bye week.
Again, I’m backing the hosts. Wasps have looked good at times and just need to string 80-minutes of rugby together. My money is on them doing that this Sunday.
