Northampton v Bristol: match preview, free rugby tips, odds & prediction

Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Northampton v Bristol in the Gallagher Premiership at Franklin Gardens.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 3pm Sunday

Best bets

Northampton to win by one to 12 points
2pts 6-4 Betfair

Teimana Harrison to score a try
1pt 9-2 Betfair

Northampton v Bristol match preview

There's a lot of pace and flair in both line-ups for this Franklin's Gardens Premiership contest but how much of that will be on show looks set to be decided by the weather conditions.

Northampton have already warned fans to watch out for updates on Sunday morning and rain is forecast to have cleared by late morning. But if the match goes ahead conditions are sure to be greasy and strong winds will play a part.

Out-and-out speedsters such as Bristol's Charles Piutau and Luke Morahan may struggle to get into the game, and while Northampton winger Taqele Naiyaravoro is likely to find his power and bulk is a bigger asset, territory and forward power look likely to determine this game.

After a bright start to the campaign Bristol hit a poor run, failing to win or stay within the handicap in four matches before stemming the tide with a home victory over Gloucester in January.

But they have lost three of four on the road, their only win coming surprisingly at top side Exeter, and they won only three of 11 away matches last season, although one of those was against the Saints.

Northampton have been pushing hard at the top of the table and their only home defeat came last time out when they were leading London Irish before being reduced to 14 men in the final quarter.

They are without fly-half Dan Biggar but James Grayson has been a dependable back-up and has the maturity in his game to play the game in the right areas.

Scoring could be low in the likely conditions so taking the Saints to edge a narrow win looks the best bet, and for a tryscorer the home pack is the best place to look.

Number eight Teimana Harrison is celebrating his 150th appearance for Northampton and already has more tries this season than in any of the previous eight campaigns with five in 16 games.

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