By Wellsaint
January 28 2005

It's back to the Zurich Premiership this weekend, with Saints looking to build on their run that's taken them from bottom to ninth in two games. However, the Enya game is not the easiest of starts. The Enya game, you ask? Sale away, sale away, sale away... Oh, please yourselves.... Zurich Premiership Betting Preview Round 14

Leeds v London Irish

This is now effectively a dress rehearsal for the semi-final of the Powergen Cup. Both teams won away from home last week. Irish will be looking for a period of consolidation to ensure automatic qualification for the Heineken Cup whilst Leeds will be looking to pull away from the drop zone. I believe the phrase is "winning ugly" - Leeds by three. That's all I'm saying.

Saracens v Newcastle

Saracens lost in the Cup last week whilst Newcastle had a weekend off. Saracens loss came about mainly due to missed kicks and I can't see the tactical mistakes being repeated this week. This is a close game to call, but in the belief that Sarries were getting a good run together, and that last week was a blip, I take Sarries to win by five.

Saturday's live SKY TV games

Game One: kick off 2.45 - Sale v Saints

Both teams lost, possibly somewhat unexpectedly, at home in the Cup last week. Sale received a boost with the news that Jason Robinson has been passed fit to play in this fixture, whilst Saints received the news that Mark Robinson won't be playing in this fixture as a result of the red card received for his sending off last week (14 weeks? Are you having a laugh?!)

Sale are one of the more exciting teams to watch in the Premiership (and after some of the teams we've played in the past few weeks, heaven knows we could do with some excitement - who could I possibly mean?...) and tend to score pretty freely, although they have, at times, also tended to concede scores quite easily as well (not quite so much this year.) This has all the makings of a classic - and I've already warned the world NOT to disturb me tomorrow.

However, I don't share young Louisa's confidence levels - an excellent preview, if you haven't yet seen it, be sure to take a look. I take Sale to win this by nine points.

Game Two: kick off 5.35 - Wasps v Bath

When these two teams get together its always a very close and exciting game, and tomorrow should be no exception. Despite their injury problems, Bath went to Sale and won last week (we can but hope) whilst Wasps had an extra weekend off as a result of playing an ineligible player in an earlier round of the Powergen Cup. I take Wasps to consolidate second place in the ZP and to win this by eight points.

Saturday's other games

Leicester v Harlequins

Top plays bottom and I can't see any other result than Leicester taking five points from the game and Quins nil. Leicester to win by somewhere north of eighteen.

Gloucester v Worcester

A local derby which I think will still be in the fixture list come next year. For this year's encounter I take Gloucester to win by fourteen.

Handicap odds available

Leeds are three to four point favourites and I think this is too close to the mark
for betting purposes. Sarries are also favourite by between two and five points, and, at a two point handicap, represent a potential bet, although it's hardly
stand-out betting material. No handicaps are currently available for tomorrow's
games at the time of writing (noon Friday)