Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints: Tom Vickers' big match preview

Fixture: Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints
Tom James will make his first appearance of the season this weekendTom James will make his first appearance of the season this weekend
Tom James will make his first appearance of the season this weekend

Competition: Gallagher Premiership

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium, Eccles

Date and kick-off time: Saturday, November 6, 2021, 5pm

Weather forecast: 13c, light rain

Live television coverage: None

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe

Sale Sharks: Hammersley; McGuigan, S James, van Rensburg, Yarde; MacGinty, Warr; Rodd, van der Merwe, Oosthuizen; JL du Preez, JP du Preez; Ross (c), B Curry, D du Preez.

Replacements: Langdon, McIntyre, Jones, Nield, Postlethwaite, Thomas, R du Preez, L James.

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Saints: Freeman; Skosan, Dingwall, Hutchinson, Collins; Grayson, James; Waller, Fish, Hill; Ribbans, Moon; Wilkins, Ludlam (c), Augustus.

Replacements: Haywood, Iyogun, Painter, Nansen, Coles, Harrison, Tupai, Francis.

Not considered for selection: Matthew Arden, Callum Burns, Oisín Heffernan, George Hendy, Dani Long-Martinez, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Ollie Newman, Matt Proctor, Ollie Sleightholme, JJ Tonks, Ahsee Tuala, Tom Wood, Nick Auterac, Dan Biggar, George Furbank, Courtney Lawes, Frank Lomani, Sam Matavesi, Alex Mitchell, Api Ratuniyarawa.

Most recent meeting: Saturday, March 13, 2021: Saints 17 Sale Sharks 14 (Gallagher Premiership)

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Tom's preview: 'A trip to Sale is just what we need after a derby-day drubbing', said no one, ever.

For Saints this Saturday it is a case of out of the frying pan into the fire as they make the trip north on the back of an ego-bruising loss to local rivals Leicester Tigers.

A big response will be called for, but that is not just the case for Chris Boyd's men.

Sale, too, will be in need of a bounce-back success after their 27-14 defeat to a Worcester Warriors side who had been eviscerated 66-10 by Saints just eight days earlier.

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This weekend's game, Boyd says, is 'a dance of the desperates'.

A meeting between two teams who know how much a defeat would compound their misery and how welcome a win would be to wipe away some pain.

Pain has been a tradition for Saints at Sale over the years, with the black, green and gold winning on just four of their 12 visits to the AJ Bell Stadium.

Even the title-winning team of 2013/14 had trouble there.

It is a ground that holds few good memories for Saints, but they really need to make some this weekend.

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Because in a Premiership that is as competitive as ever, every point counts.

And when you consider Saints' next league game after this one is a trip to Bristol Bears, it shows just how tough the competition is.

No matter where a side sits in the table, on their day the sky is the limit.

Worcester showed that against Sale last weekend, so there is certainly hope for Saints.

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But if they are to stand any chance of celebrating on Saturday evening, they will have to be much more calm and collected under pressure than they were last weekend.

They will also have to find a way to win collisions against brutal ball carriers as well as dealing with an aerial bombardment.

If Saints can do that, they can show that the Tigers defeat was a mere blip.

But if they can't, more questions will be asked about whether this undoubtedly skilful side find a way past the most imposing sides the Premiership has to offer.

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Tom's prediction: This is such a tough game for Saints. Sale are not missing anywhere near as many players and they are usually formidable at the AJ Bell Stadium. You have to think the hosts might be a bit too strong here. Sale Sharks 22 Saints 11.