The LDH isn't enjoyed by everyone due to the usual complaints of expensive food and drink, long queues to get served, and people continuously coming and going. However, there are plenty of positives about these events. Although Twickenham doesn't always bring out the best in Harlequins it is easy for many fans to get to, it is in effect a neutral venue for all four sides, and the atmosphere around the stadium is pretty good. It was reported that over 73,000 tickets had been sold a few days ago, and the warm sunny weather predicted may see more fans than usual watch both games.

Wasps didn't have the best season by their own high standards last time around, although they managed to comfortably finish 5^th in the Premiership. They also disappointingly lost out to Cardiff in the second tier European competition in a home semi-final. So Shaun Edwards and co will be expecting to move up a notch this season and will be looking to extend their excellent record against Quins. Wasps fans have often bemoaned their slow start to the season but last year was very different, when they only lost 3 of their first 16 matches in all competitions.

Four new signings line up in the gold and black this weekend, although one of them is the returning Riki Flutey who starts at fly half. Welshman Andy Powell, the Australian Nic Berry, and ex-Saracen Richard Haughton are the other three players who will be looking to make a big impact at their new club.

Wasps have had an excellent pre-season with heavy wins over Leinster away and Glasgow at home, although the results of pre-season fixtures aren't necessarily a guide to how that team fares when the real competitions start. Their starting XV shows a familiar surfeit of English players, most of whom have represented their country at international level, and the experience of Vickery, Shaw and Worsley will be a key part of their hunt for success in this opening fixture. Sadly Joe Simpson is currently injured, although that may be a good thing from Harlequins' point of view as he has a pretty good track record in these games, having opened up the Quins defence to devastating effect on several occasions. Having said that, he seems to get crocked against the multi-coloured ones also… so maybe on balance missing this fixture suits all!

There is every chance that both the Twickenham games will be highly entertaining, and in this second match there are some fascinating match-ups. The Wasps back three may have a slight edge in the speed stakes but is perhaps not the most defensively sound; the Quins trio have a great balance about them though – Monye's speed and phenomenal strength; Brown's uncanny ability to glide past players, allied to his great boot and ability under the high ball; and the all round game of Tom Williams. The centre battle is one to relish also – Waldouck, Jacobs, JTH and Lowe are all very gifted players who can cause havoc to midfield defences, and for the three Englishmen this will be an ideal chance to set down a marker for their England ambitions, with Waldouck already in the box seat.

Flutey at fly half is an interesting proposition. His best position is undoubtedly at inside centre, and a new partnership with Berry at 9 probably won't quite match the settled Quins pairing of Care and Evans. In fact, if Quins get enough ball, the half backs should cause a lot of problems for Wasps.

As usual, the Harlequins front five has been described in the media as both under-powered and lacking depth, and as usual there will be many occasions this season when that notion will be proved nonsense. Can the Quins pack get parity with their opponents on Saturday? Absolutely! The expected quicker pace of the games this season, especially in the current good climatic conditions, will suit Harlequins to a tee. As ever the breakdown will be a vital area in which to try and dominate, and whichever team is shows more discipline in staying on their feet and entering through the gate will gain an advantage. It remains to be seen how hotly contested the breakdowns will be, and teams may chose to limit their numbers in these phases when not in possession of the ball.

I'd like to think Quins have a small advantage in the back row, with the talented and established trio of Robshaw, Skinner and Easter. However, a rejuvenated Andy Powell would fit in very well with Worsley and Rees – so, another great match-up to savour.

The pace of the game will see most of the bench players join the action sooner rather than later, unless of course the game and score are very evenly matched. The respective benches look fairly even with both experience and youth for each team.

So who will win? On past form it's hard to look past Wasps, even at the neutral venue. However, Quins have shown that when they are on song they can compete with anyone. I'm predicting a very close score-line whoever wins!

One final note – it's great to see so many English players across both these sides. 24 of the starting 30, and 12 on the benches.

Wasps team:
15 Mark Van Gisbergen
14 Richard Haughton
13 Ben Jacobs
12 Dom Waldouck
11 Tom Varndell
10 Riki Flutey
9 Nic Berry

1 Tim Payne
2 Rob Webber
3 Phil Vickery
4 Simon Shaw
5 Richard Birkett
6 Joe Worsley
7 Tom Rees (c)
8 Andy Powell

16 Tom Lindsay
17 Zak Taulafo
18 Ben Broster
19 Dan Ward-Smith
20 Serge Betsen
21 Charlie Davies
22 Dave Walder
23 Jack Wallace

Harlequins team:

1 CERI JONES
2 CHRIS BROOKER
3 MARK LAMBERT
4 OLLIE KOHN
5 TOMAS VALLEJOS
6 CHRIS ROBSHAW (Captain)
7 WILL SKINNER
8 NICK EASTER
9 DANNY CARE
10 NICK EVANS
11 UGO MONYE
12 JORDAN TURNER-HALL
13 GEORGE LOWE
14 TOM WILLIAMS
15 MIKE BROWN

16 MATT CAIRNS
17 JOE MARLER
18 JAMES JOHNSTON
19 PETE BROWNE
20 TOM GUEST
21 KARL DICKSON
22 RORY CLEGG
23 OLLIE SMITH

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