There are six games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with Exeter, Bath, Gloucester, Harlequins, Saracens and London Irish all playing at home.
Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints
Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has made four changes to his starting line-up from the side which lost a week ago against Wasps.
Into the pack come Greg Holmes, Sam Skinner and Thomas Waldrom for Tomas Francis, Mitch Lees and Dave Ewers, while behind Ian Whitten is also given the nod from the outset, replacing Argentinian winger Santiago Cordero.
On the bench, Jack Innard is included again having made his Premiership debut against Wasps, while Marcus Street, Matt Kvesic and Phil Dollman are also added to the mix.
Meanwhile, Harry Mallinder and David Ribbans both come back into Northampton Saints’ starting line-up.
Saints make just the two changes for the trip to Sandy Park to take on the reigning Premiership champions, after coming from behind to beat London Irish last weekend.
Mallinder lines up at full back for the first time since December, having started in the number 10 jersey on his last three starts for Saints.
The 21-year-old was released by England earlier in the week after training with Eddie Jones’ Red Rose squad during their preparations to take on Scotland.
David Ribbans comes into the engine room to join skipper Christian Day in the only other change to Saints’ starting XV, with the front row of Campese Ma’afu, Mikey Haywood, Kieran Brookes lining up together again.
Heinrich Brüssow makes his first appearance away from home in the Black, Green and Gold – with the in-form Jamie Gibson and last week’s man-of-the-match Teimana Harrison making up the rest of the back row.
Piers Francis and Nic Groom remain in the halfback berths, while Ahsee Tuala switches to the wing with George North away on Wales international duty.
And Michael Paterson is the only change to the replacements for Saints as technical coaching consultant Alan Gaffney and interim head coach Alan Dickens stick with largely the same formula that came good against Irish at Franklin’s Gardens.
Form: Exeter Chiefs have slipped to three straight defeats in Premiership Rugby but have not lost four in a row since 2014/15. The Chiefs tripped up at home to Worcester in round 14 and have not been defeated in successive matches at Sandy Park in the tournament since the end of the 2013/14 campaign. Northampton Saints last four games in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Saints’ only away victory in the tournament since last March came on a trip to London Irish at the end of September. The Saints most recent victory over the Chiefs was by a solitary point at Franklin’s Gardens in September 2016, whilst the East Midlanders have not been victorious at Sandy Park since February 2014.
The teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Ollie Devoto, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Phil Dollman
Northampton: 15 Harry Mallinder, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Ben Foden, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Heinrich Brüssow, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day (c), 4 David Ribbans, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Nafi Tuitavake
Date: Saturday, February 24
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Referees: Matthew O’Grady, Greg Macdonald
TMO: Keith Lewis
Gloucester v Wasps
Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann has made five changes to his starting line-up after last weekend's loss to Worcester Warriors.
This weekend's fixture one of the key clashes in the Premiership with third-placed Wasps visiting fourth-placed Gloucester, the Cherry and Whites looking to consolidate a place in the play-off places.
Charlie Sharples is back from injury and takes his usual berth on the right wing. Mark Atkinson comes in to partner Billy Twelvetrees in midfield and Callum Braley gets the nod at scrum-half this week.
In the pack, Richard Hibbard will start at hooker in place of James Hanson while Ed Slater will partner Mariano Galarza in the second row and will captain the side.
Meanwhile, fit-again Juan de Jongh partners Jimmy Gopperth in Wasps' midfield for this crucial clash.
With Danny Cipriani sidelined by an Achilles strain, the pair play outside Rob Miller and Dan Robson, who returns to the club he left three years ago.
Wasps' rugby director Dai Young has opted to rotate three of his front five, with Matt Mullan, Jake Cooper-Woolley and Will Rowlands starting against the fourth-placed hosts.
Ashley Johnson reverts to the back row, which means academy product TJ Harris joins Simon McIntyre and Marty Moore in providing front row cover.
Anglo-Welsh Cup breakthrough player candidate Owain James will make his Premiership debut should he arrive from the bench.
Form: Gloucester’s last six matches in Premiership Rugby have all gone with home field advantage. The Cherry & White’s only defeat at Kingsholm in any competition this season was to Pau in round 6 of the European Challenge Cup. Wasps have lost just once in the last nine rounds of Premiership Rugby: 15-38 at home to Saracens on 7 January. Wasps are the best away side in the tournament having lost on just two of their seven trips so far. The last six meetings between the two clubs have all gone the way of the home side whilst Wasps most recent success at Kingsholm came on 28 December 2014.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14, Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Trinder, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Matt Scott, 23 David Halaifonua
Wasps: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Rob Miller, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Guy Thompson, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 James Gaskell (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 TJ Harris, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Ben Harris, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Brendan Macken, 23 Owain James
Date: Saturday, February 24
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth, Wayne Falla
TMO: David Rose
Bath v Sale Sharks
Bath have been boosted with the inclusion of Wales and British and Irish Lions back-row Taulupe Faletau who returns to start against Sale.
Faletau takes his place a number eight in a dynamic back row that features Zach Mercer and Josh Bayliss on the flanks.
Beno Obano and Henry Thomas also return to the starting line-up at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively, with Ross Batty continuing at hooker. Captain Matt Garvey switches to lock, where he will partner Elliott Stooke in the engine room.
James Wilson switches from fullback to fly-half, joining Kahn Fotuali’i to form the half-back combination. Cooper Vuna, who marked his Club debut with a try last week continues on the left wing, with Aled Brew out wide on the right. Will Hurrell and Ben Tapuai link-up in the midfield once more, with Darren Atkins coming in to the starting line-up at fullback.
Tom Homer could mark his return to first team action, with the fullback named among the replacements.
Josh Lewis is unavailable for selection having picked up a knock in training.
Sale Sharks, meanwhile, have made one change from the starting fifteen which began at Saracens last weekend with teenage centre Luke James, who came on as a replacement against Mark McCall’s men, starting at inside centre alongside Will Addison.
Winger Denny Solomona and number eight Josh Strauss will both figure after having been released from international duty by England and Scotland respectively earlier this week.
Meanwhile teenager Cameron Redpath, who scored a try on his debut for England’s U20s against Wales earlier this month, is named on the replacements’ bench as is Romanian prop Alexandru Tarus who also returns from international duty.
Form: Bath’s four game winning run in all competitions ended at Newcastle on Friday evening. Bath’s record at the Recreation Ground in Premiership Rugby this season is won four, lost three, but they have yet to manage successive victories. Sale Sharks have lost just twice in the last seven rounds of Premiership Rugby, 16-20 at Gloucester in round 12 and 3-13 at home to Saracens last weekend. The last six meetings between the two clubs have been won by the home side on the day whilst the Sharks most recent victory at The Recreation Ground was in March 2014.
The teams:
Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 James Wilson, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Josh Bayliss, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Matt Garvey (c), 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 James Phillips, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Jack Wilson, 23 Tom Homer
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Will Addison (c), 12 Luke James, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Sam James, 9 Faf De Klerk, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 James Flynn, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 George Nott, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Josh Charnley 23 Cameron Redpath
Date: Saturday, February 24
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Roy Maybank
TMO: Geoff Warren
Harlequins v Newcastle Falcons
Harlequins boss John Kingston has made four changes to the starting side from last week’s match away to Leicester Tigers.
Charlie Walker has returned from a rib injury to start on the right wing while Alofa Alofa is in line for his 50th Harlequins appearance on the other.
Ben Glynn and captain James Horwill return from injury and start in the second row while Mark Lambert plays at loosehead prop in the absence of Lewis Boyce, who picked up a knock at Welford Road.
Among the replacements, Demetri Catrakilis makes a welcome return having recovered from the injury he sustained in Round 2 of the Premiership.
Meanwhile, Newcastle Falcons welcome back club captain Will Welch for this fixture.
The flanker returns from a head knock, with fellow back row man Mark Wilson also back fit after recovering from a hamstring problem.
Fit-again full-back Simon Hammersley replaces Alex Tait in the only other change to the side which defeated Bath 29-12 last Friday, Newcastle aiming to do the double over Harlequins after defeating the London side 11-10 when they met in December at Kingston Park Stadium.
Newcastle are without Scotland hooker Scott Lawson on Calcutta Cup day, while their London hosts will be minus a number of England internationals including Dany Care and Chris Robshaw.
Form: Harlequins have slipped to three straight defeats in Premiership Rugby but have not lost four in succession in the tournament in the same season since 2006/07. Quins have lost just twice at home in Premiership Rugby this season, to Leicester in round 4 and Wasps in Round 14. Newcastle Falcons’ only defeat in their last six Premiership Rugby fixtures was 3-25 at Saracens on 10 February. The Falcons have already won four times away from home in Premiership Rugby this season and have only once before exceeded this total – in 1997/98 when they were Champions. The last eight fixtures between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Falcons have not been victorious at Twickenham Stoop in Premiership Rugby since September 2000.
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Alofa Alofa, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jono Kitto, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Dave Ward, 6 Luke Wallace, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Ben Glynn, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Mark Lambert
Replacements: 16 Charlie Piper, 17 Cameron Holenstein, 18 Will Collier, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Archie White, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Demetri Catrakilis, 23 Tim Visser
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Michael Young, 8 Nili Latu, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sam Lockwood, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Sean Robinson, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Maxime Mermoz
Date: Saturday, February 24
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Philip Watters, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Saracens v Leicester Tigers
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has made two changes to the starting XV that secured an important win over Sale last Friday.
In the backs, Nathan Earle comes in on the wing for Liam Williams who has been called up for international duty with Wales while, in the forwards, Schalk Brits returns from injury to wear the number two jersey.
Elsewhere in the starting line up Saracens continue unchanged.
Among the replacements academy player Rotimi Segun is added to the match day 23 and will be in line for his Premiership debut should he feature from the bench.
Meanwhile, Australia international hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau returns to the Leicester Tigers front row for this clash.
In the only change to the matchday squad from the Round 15 win over Harlequins last weekend, Polota-Nau swaps places with club captain Tom Youngs who is named among the replacements this week.
Matt Toomua continues at fly-half and will also lead out the team as captain at Allianz Park this week.
Scrum-half Sam Harrison makes the 100th Premiership appearance of his career while Mathew Tait will make a 100th top-flight appearance in the club’s colours if he is used from the bench.
Form: Saracens have won their last five Premiership Rugby matches since their single point defeat to Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop on 3 December. Saracens have lost only one of their last twenty-two home games in Premiership Rugby – 18-20 to Exeter at Allianz Park in November. Leicester Tigers two victories in the last seven rounds of Premiership Rugby were both in their last two home games, against London Irish and Harlequins. The Tigers have suffered seven straight away losses in all tournaments since beating Newcastle at Kingston Park in Round 7 of Premiership Rugby. The Tigers have not beaten Saracens in Premiership Rugby since 20 March 2016 at Welford Road, however they did win at Allianz Park in the semi-final of last season’s Anglo-Welsh Cup.
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Dominic Day, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Mark Flanagan, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Max Malins, 23 Rotimi Segun
Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Jonah Holmes, 10 Matt Toomua (c), 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Harry Simmons, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mathew Tait
Date: Sunday, February 25
Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 15:30 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Peter Allan
TMO: Sean Davey
London Irish v Worcester Warriors
Alex Lewington will join London Irish’s 100 club this Sunday when the Exiles welcome Worcester Warriors to the Madejski Stadium.
The free-scoring winger bagged himself a first half brace at Northampton Saints last weekend, a feat which yielded his 50th try for the club.
Lewington is part of an Exiles side that sees two changes from last week’s trip to Franklin’s Gardens, back-row Conor Gilsenan and centre Johnny Williams both getting the nod in the starting XV.
Irishman Gilsenan replaces Max Northcote-Green at openside flanker, while talented Exiles academy graduate Williams comes in for Luke McLean. Blair Cowan, who missed the trip to Northampton due to family reasons, has not trained this week and is not available for selection.
Meanwhile, Springbok scrum-half Francois Hougaard returns to the Warriors side for this fixture.
Hougaard is one of two changes to the starting line-up which beat Gloucester at Sixways last weekend, with Alafoti Faosiliva replacing Scotland international David Denton in the back row.
Hougaard is joined by 20-year-old Jamie Shillcock in the halfback combination while Ryan Mills and Jackson Willison keep their places in the centre for the ninth consecutive Premiership game.
Warriors and Premiership top tryscorer Josh Adams starts again in a potent back three which includes Bryce Heem and Chris Pennell.
The pack sees Ethan Waller, Jack Singleton and Nick Schonert line up in the front row while skipper Donncha O’Callaghan is partnered by the in-form Darren Barry in the second row.
Faosiliva joins Sam Lewis and GJ van Velze in the back row, with the latter making his 60th club appearance – in which all have been starts.
Will Spencer has recovered from illness to make the replacements as Warriors opt for six forwards on the bench.
Form: London Irish are still without a victory in Premiership Rugby since they beat Harlequins at Twickenham Stadium in Round 1. The Exiles most recent victory in the tournament at Madejski Stadium came when Gloucester were the visitors for the St Patrick’s Day match in March 2016. Worcester Warriors have won back-to-back Premiership Rugby encounters, at Exeter and at home to Gloucester, but have not won three in a row in the competition for almost two years. The Warriors failed to win away from home at all in the tournament last year, but have claimed two notable scalps this campaign, triumphing at Leicester and at Exeter. Worcester have won their last two fixtures against London Irish, but both were played at Sixways. The Warriors only previous victory in Reading was 20-15 in September 2005.
The teams:
London Irish: 15 James Marshall, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Arno Botha, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 David Paice, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Dave Porecki, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Aseli Tikoirotuma
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (c), 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Anton Bresler, 20 Will Spencer, 21 Matt Cox, 22 Jonny Arr, 23 Dean Hammond
Date: Sunday, February 25
Venue: Madejski Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Anthony Woodthorpe
TMO: David Grashoff
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