Aviva Premiership: Northampton stroll expected at sorry Sale
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There were a couple of shocks during last weekend’s round of Aviva Premiership fixtures, although regular readers of news.ladbrokes would have seen this profitable London Welsh bet coming, but champions Northampton widened their lead thanks to an edgy win at home to Newcastle.
However, Saints won’t be able to rely on second-placed Bath coming up short every week, as they did at Leicester.
JIm Mallinder’s pacesetters headline our latest domestic rugby treble, which will pay out at over 9/2 if the required business is done.
The champions are flying, statistically at least, with nine wins in their last ten Aviva Premiership games, but only one of their past five victories has come by more than eight points, and that was against London Welsh.
However, they cruised past Sale 43-10 in October, and the Sharks have been in appalling form of late, going down narrowly at home to Leicester on Boxing Day before being pummelled 41-16 away to improving Wasps.
Sale also lost all four of their European Champions Cup fixtures in the first half of the campaign, which will have stuffed their confidence against the big boys. Mallinder’s men should see them off with plenty to spare in the north west.
Conor O’Shea’s charges gained the dubious honour of beating London Welsh by the least amount of points so far this term last time out, edging past the Exiles 24-13 in Oxford.
That win aided a record of three losses from Quins’ previous four Premiership matches, form which suggests they’ll struggle against a Tigers outfit bouncing after their 17-8 triumph of retribution over great rivals Bath.
Leicester have won two of their last three in the league on the road, only losing away domestically at Northampton since early October, and by just four points at that.
Richard Cockerill’s outfit look a big price to take this.
The Chiefs’ impressive four-game winning streak at home in the Premiership, which included 10-plus points victories against Saracens, Wasps and Harlequins, was ended abruptly by Gloucester last time out at Sandy Park, but Rob Baxter’s boys shouldn’t be abandoned after a narrow 26-25 loss.
Gloucester walloped London Irish 21-9 at the Madejski at the end of November, and Exeter beat the Exiles by 20 when they clashed in Devon three months ago.
Four places and 18 Premiership points separate these sides after 12 games, and the hosts have only won one of their past eight in the division (at home to rock-bottom London Welsh), so there’s clearly value in the visitors.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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