Friday's Premiership & Pro14 betting preview, free tips and where to watch

Rugby union tips, best bets and predictions for Sale Sharks v Wasps in the Premiership and Connacht v Leinster and Edinburgh v Dragons in the Pro14.

Where to watch

Sale v Wasps
BT Sport 1, 7.45pm Friday

Connacht v Leinster
Premier Sports 2 & TG4, 7.35pm Friday

Edinburgh v Dragons
Premier Sports 1, 7.35pm Friday

Best bets

Sale to win by one to 12 points
1pt 2-1 Betfair
Back this tip with Coral

Edinburgh -19
1pt 10-11 Betfair, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Preview

Less than a week after the Springboks beat England to win the Rugby World Cup, a Sale Sharks side containing seven high-quality South African ex-pats should be backed to claim a narrow home win over Wasps in the Premiership.

Grizzly Sale boss Steve Diamond stated in the summer that he was targeting a fast start in the Premiership Cup and his squad duly obliged, storming into the semi-finals with four wins out of four in their pool and three try-bonus points.

However, they have found life a little harder in the league. In round two, they hammered London Irish 41-7 at Madejski but before that they were turned over 18-16 by Gloucester and last Friday, they were edged out 16-10 by Bristol at Ashton Gate.

Wasps also have one win from three in the Premiership, beating Bath 30-22 at the Ricoh Arena last Saturday after disappointing defeats at home to Irish and away at Gloucester.

While they were knocked out of the cup in the pool stages, they lost only 24-20 to the Sharks in Salford and showed how dangerous they can be with a try bonus in defeat to Saracens and five-point successes against Northampton and Worcester.

In the Pro14, back Edinburgh to give up 19 points to the Dragons at Murrayfield.

Edinburgh need to pick themselves up from defeat at Benetton last Saturday but they have been imperious on home turf this term with handsome wins over Zebre and Scarlets. As well as picking up their losing bonus in Treviso, Richard Cockerill's charges have claimed a win on the road in Cardiff.

The Dragons passed the 50-point mark against Zebre and stunned Glasgow, but heavy defeats at Munster and Leinster and at home to Connacht look more reflective of their current state.

The Sportsground clash between Connacht and Leinster falls into the best-watched category. Both sides welcome back into the fold some of their Ireland players and while the champions and clear Conference A leaders are looking to make it six straight wins, the Galway gang have won their last four fixtures including a hard-earned 20-10 win at Ospreys last Saturday.

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