Premiership rugby union predictions, team news, betting tips and odds

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Where to watch 

Leicester vs Northampton
ITV4, TNT Sports 1, 3.05pm

Bristol vs Saracens
TNT Sports 1, 5.30pm

There are four rounds of Premiership action left and while leaders Northampton and champions Bath look set for playoff places, the battle beneath them is heating up.

Three of the teams in that tangle for third and fourth are in action on Saturday and two fiercely-contested TV showdowns look to be on the cards.

Betting tips & predictions

Best bets

Northampton to win by one to 12 points
1pt 9-4 bet365

Saracens -2
2pts 10-11 general

Prem Rugby Preview 

The East Midlands derby is first up on a Saturday Premiership double-header and it's a match that has gone the way of the home side in eight of the last nine meetings.

Northampton will be chasing a bonus-point win that would confirm their place in the playoffs and they go to Welford Road on a run of eight successive victories.

Leicester are unbeaten at home in the league this season but are ten points behind their rivals the Saints and are far less assured of a top-four finish.

The Tigers were narrowly beaten 19-15 at Saracens last time out but while that was a gritty contest against another team fighting for a playoff place, this is a completely different challenge as they take on the free-scoring Saints.

Only Bath have topped Northampton's scoring record this season as the Saints have stacked up 515 points and run in 76 tries in their 14 matches, and their backline is bolstered this week by the return of full-back George Furbank. 

The first priority for Leicester will surely be to keep a lid on that dangerous attack and use their powerful pack to get on the front foot.

However, keeping that up over 80 minutes is likely to be tough and in their last two away matches the Saints have landed last-minute scores to beat Saracens 21-17 and Exeter 35-28.

Those are both big, physical sides much in Leicester's mould and if the Saints can find a way past them, they look worth backing to do the same in the Tigers' lair.

Maro Itoje and Saracens have found a ruthless edgeCredit: Getty Images

Bristol host Saracens in an early-evening encounter and the stakes are even higher as the teams lie fifth and sixth, just outside the playoff places.

Sarries have more work to do but Bristol can reach the top four if they win and Leicester lose. However, the West Country side had a wobble when the Premiership resumed after the Six Nations, losing to Leicester and Harlequins, and while they have won back-to-back matches since, those victories came against struggling sides Gloucester and Newcastle.

Saracens have had a few blips throughout the campaign too, but they seem to have found a ruthless edge now they are in the last-chance saloon.

Following defeats to top two Bath and Northampton, Sarries ran in 13 tries to win 85-19 at Sale, then outfought third-placed Leicester 19-15. That combination of heft and firepower can serve them well again.

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