Exeter narrow favourites to edge Bath in fourth final

Bath v Exeter
BT Sport 1, 3pm Sunday

Exeter are appearing in their fourth consecutive Anglo-Welsh Cup final and are narrow favourites to lift the trophy for the second time but this is a desperately tough contest to call between two sides made up of a blend of youth and experience.

The tournament is scheduled to coincide with international weeks allowing clubs to use their emerging talent but both teams line up with older heads in key positions.

Premiership champions Exeter have lost more players to the Six Nations than in past seasons, but their back row, one of their strongest areas, still looks in pretty good shape with seasoned trio Matt Kvesic, Julian Salvi and Kai Horstmann.

First-choice fly-half Gareth Steenson returns as well to pull the strings and the Chiefs look well equipped to put pressure on Bath with their relentless phase play.

Bath have also brought in the big guns at half-back, where Kahn Fotuali’i partners Freddie Burns, and a back three of Cooper Vuna, Matt Banahan and Tom Homer have plenty of first-team miles under their belts.

Conditions at Gloucester's Kingsholm should be reasonable as overnight snow is forecast to clear by early morning and this could well be a high-scoring contest. Premiership form may not be too indicative given the number of second-string players in both line-ups, but there were ten tries in the league clash between these teams in December, which Exeter won 42-29 at home.

The back three players are all fairly short prices to score, but one player to focus on could be Chiefs centre Olllie Devoto, who scored a brace in the final group game against Saracens and will be fired up to impress against his former club.

Recommendation
O Devoto to score a try
1pt 5-1 Betfair

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook