Guinness Premiership - Round 8 Preview

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Saracens will be out to continue their unbeaten start to the Guinness Premiership season © Getty Images

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Tournaments/Tours Guinness Premiership

Teams Bath | England | Harlequins | Leeds Carnegie | Leicester | London Irish | London Wasps | Newcastle | Northampton | Sale | Saracens | Worcester

Guinness Premiership leaders Saracens will need all of the momentum gained from their victory over South Africa at Wembley on Tuesday if they are to preserve their unbeaten domestic start against Wasps at Vicarage Road on Sunday. Sarries are currently three points clear at the top of the pile and six points ahead of the visitors, who sit in third.

Mark van Gisbergen will play his 200th game for Wasps at fullback and is joined in the back-three by Paul Sackey after his services were not required by England. Sarries are missing several regulars to international duty and hand a first start to England Sevens international Kevin Barrett in place of the injured Neil de Kock at scrum-half.

London Irish travel to face Newcastle at Kingston Park on Sunday and will hope to put extra pressure on the leaders after conceding ground with a 9-9 draw away at Harlequins in the last round. Toby Booth's men sit three points behind the leaders but will have their work cut out against a Falcons side looking for their third straight league victory.

Carl Hayman returns to lead the Falcons and is joined in the starting line-up by scrum-half Micky Young and fly-half Jimmy Gopperth. Tane Tu'ipulotu and Rob Vickerman are reunited in the centre. The Exiles will be led by Bob Casey, who starts alongside Nick Kennedy in the second-row. Steffon Armitage is available on the openside after his release from the England squad.

The weekend's action kicks off on Friday, when Leicester take a competitive side to face struggling Gloucester at Kingsholm. The home side have been forced in to recruiting veteran Wales back-row Nathan Thomas on a short-term deal following an injury to Andy Hazell and have been in dire form in recent weeks. Nick Robinson starts at fly-half, with Olly Morgan and James Simpson-Daniel providing the back-three firepower.

The Tigers have recalled Aaron Mauger, Brett Deacon and Johne Murphy to their starting line-up and England utility back Toby Flood continues his recovery from injury with a place on the bench.

Friday's other game sees Worcester host Bath; with the visitors perilously close to the foot of the table following Leeds' well-timed victory over Wasps last time out.

Leeds have an opportunity to further enhance their standing with a home fixture against a Sale side that has stuttered so far this season. Kingsley Jones' men picked up their second league-win against a 14-man Gloucester two weeks ago and will need to be on their game against a Leeds side beginning to sniff some improved survival odds.

Dean Schofield will play his 150th Premiership game in the Sale engine-room alongside the impressive youngster James Gaskell.

Saturday's only game sees Franklin's Gardens host Northampton and Harlequins. With plenty of talk surrounding Saints following their European win over Munster, their defeat to Leicester in the east-Midlands derby two weeks ago was a bitter blow. Quins have been struggling to impose themselves this season and the stench of 'Bloodgate' still lingers.

Ben Foden and Chris Ashton are included in the Saints' back-three, with Stephen Myler continuing at fly-half in the absence of England's Shane Geraghty. Tom Williams, who was banned following the 'Bloodgate' scandal, has been named in the Harlequins team having served his suspension for fabricating a blood injury. Williams was banned for 12 months - reduced to four months on appeal - for biting on a blood capsule during Quins' 6-5 Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat against Leinster last season.

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