Another of our weekly pre-match updates where we analyse the weekend’s lineups, crunch the stats and see what the bookies are thinking to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this weekend!
Potential mismatches
And it’s back! Now we enter the part of the season that separates the elite from the amateurs, the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys. With the big guns ravaged of their international stars, we now reach the point of the season where the careful fantasy rugby planners come to the fore.
Round 8 provides some intriguing prospects with the form book expected to be ripped up and discarded as some of the bigger sides enter the fray shorn of some of the standout players of the season thus far. No team in the Aviva Premiership really feels the force of this more than Harlequins; unfortunately for them, they find themselves heading to Sandy Park this weekend to face an Exeter Chiefs side with impressive strength in depth. The bookies have recognised this as the biggest mismatch of the weekend, handing a 14 point victory to Exeter. Elsewhere, Leicester welcome Sale to Welford Road, and despite the Tigers losing some of their big names to the internationals, as well as Sale being bolstered by fantasy rugby legend Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, the bookies have handed a convincing 11 point win to Leicester.
In Paddy Power’s eyes the most nailed on games this weekend with a projected winning margin greater than 10 is…
- Exeter to beat Harlequins with a margin of 14 points
- Leicester to beat Sales with a margin of 11 points
Elsewhere, a stripped down Sarries are expected to have a tight affair with Gloucester at Fortress Kingsholm, Northampton should ease past Worcester at Sixways, Wasps have been given an 8 point win as they host Newcastle, and a weakened Bath are still expected to have enough to ease past London Irish at the Madejski.
Top 5 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power – 3/6 Matches confirmed)
- 1 Christian Wade (Wasps) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 1.73
- 2 Josh Bassett (Wasps) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2
- 3= Sean Maitland (Saracens) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.15
- 3= Chris Wyles (Saracens) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.15
- 5 Ben Foden (Northampton) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.25
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
Recommended captain pick in bold
FRONT ROW
Alex Waller (Northampton)
Ross Harrison (Sale)
Juan Figallo (Saracens)
John Afoa (Gloucester)
Ben Moon (Exeter)
Jack Yeandle (Exeter)
David Paice (London Irish)
Schalk Brits (Saracens)
Greg Bateman (Leicester)
LOCKS
Don Armand* (Exeter)
Valentino Mapapalangi* (Leicester)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Dom Barrow (Leicester)
Calum Green (Newcastle)
Ed Slater (Gloucester)
Johnny Hill (Exeter)
BACK ROW
Jackson Wray (Saracens)
Zach Mercer (Bath)
Thomas Waldrom (Exeter)
Mark Wilson (Newcastle)
Jamie Gibson (Northampton)
Will Welch (Newcastle)
SCRUM-HALF
Nic White (Exeter)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester)
Faf de Klerk (Sale)
Sam Harrison (Leicester)
FLY HALF
Freddie Burns (Bath)
Joe Ford (Leicester)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Gareth Steenson (Exeter)
CENTRES
Henry Trinder (Gloucester)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Jimmy Gopperth* (Wasps)
Ian Whitten (Exeter)
Matt Smith (Leicester)
OUTSIDE BACKS
Olly Woodburn (Exeter)
Telusa Veainu (Leicester)
Denny Solomona (Sale)
Chris Wyles (Saracens)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Lachlan Turner (Exeter)
Under-the-radar pick
Lachie Turner – Australian international Lachie Turner will be expected to follow on from a hugely impressive man of the match performance against Sale with a big performance this weekend. The versatile outside back found it hard to break into the starting XV at the start of the season, however injuries and absences have provided him now with a regular starting berth and Turner will be looking to the visit of an under-strength Quins side to Sandy Park to really make his mark on the season. Expect big returns from the talented Wallaby.
If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all this year’s Aviva Premiership fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.
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