Bath vs Saracens
Bath are coming of three straight defeats albeit with a losing bonus point in all three games. This tells us that their decision making is letting them down at crucial times. Saracens have lost just once this season but have arguably their strongest team for this match. Maro Itoje plays his first match since the Lions tour and no doubt he will be chomping at the bit to get some game time. Bath also has their star flyhalf Danny Cipriani back in the team for a crucial game like this. Saracens haven’t really hit their straps this season and you can see they are still trying to get to grips with the pace of the Premiership after the season in the Championship. Their talisman Owen Farrell has struggled to take control of games and his battle with Cipriani could decide this contest.
TIP: Saracens once the best scrumming team in the league have not had that same dominance they enjoyed in past seasons. Their game plan so often relied on this therefore this season it hasn’t given them that solid platform to attack from. The player that looks like he is coming back into form for them is Billy Vunipola. When he is on form then Saracens do well and he will be upset after being over looked for the England team. If he finds form then Bath will struggle to contain him. Bath has their own England star in Sam Underhill, a talented player but very injury prone. It will be a clash of the titans when he and Vunipola clash. The bookies have Saracens as the favourites and I agree with this assessment. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Worldsportsbetting 1.33, Playabets 1.32 and Sunbet 1.32
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Bath vs Saracens
- In the last five matches between the sides there have been three Saracen’s wins and one Bath win with the last match having ended in a draw.
- In the last four home matches against Saracens, Bath has only lost once.
- The last four matches between the sides have had victory margins less than ten
Latest results for both teams
Bath lost their last match against Bristol 25-20 while Saracens beat Newcastle 37-23 in their last match.
PREDICTION
Both these teams have international players in the squad and we can expect a very forward dominated game. These teams generally enjoy kicking a lot and this will favour Saracens who have players that are great aerially. The player Bath will look to especially with counter attack opportunities is Anthony Watson. Watson for so long the premier winger in England is suddenly finding himself under pressure to perform. Itoje is always a key player regardless of which team he is playing for, he will need to work on his discipline because at times he gives away silly penalties. Bath will try to bring their rolling maul in play as it was very effective in their last match. The Saracens team with their international players will be too strong for Bath and I predict an away win by more than 8 points.
- Probable Starting XVs
Bath
15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Ollie Fox, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Miles Reid, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Saracens
15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Max Malins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Aled Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Odds for this bet
The best odds on the Saracens victory are as follows:
Worldsportsbetting 1.33
Playabets 1.32
Sunbet 1.32
Odds comparison on the Saracens handicap victory:
The complete odds on the Saracens handicap victory:
Worldsportsbetting (-7.5) 1.90
Sunbet (-7.5) 1.87
Playabets (-7.5) 1.82
Predictions and Odds in details
The desperation of the Bath team to get their first win could see this match turn into a very tight contest. The battle between the forward packs looks to be fairly even but Saracens certainly have the edge in the backs. They have brought back veteran 15 Alex Goode and he showed that he can still beats defenders for fun regardless of his age. I am interested to see how Nick Tompkins goes as he has so much potential and has not really filled it yet. He always gets his team on the front foot with his powerful runs. In order for Bath to win this match they need players like Danny Cipriani and Anthony Watson to spark their attack and both of them are very capable of doing this. There isn’t much money for punters on the Saracens outright victory therefore I suggest taking them on the handicap. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Worldsportsbetting (-7.5) 1.90, Sunbet (-7.5) 1.87 and Playabets (-7.5) 1.82
Sports crazy fan that follows all major sport but the game with the oval ball is my real passion. Was an age level rugby coach and a huge supporter of the Springboks and diehard Liverpool man. I’m an experienced punter and sports writer whose predictions/tips are sure to stir up the emotions. I love the occasional wager on the underdog.
