Bristol vs Bath Prediction: Bears can make the most of Bath changes

Bristol Bears are promising a "celebration of rugby with a Super Bowl vibe" for Saturday's game with Bath, which has been moved across the Severn Bridge to Cardiff. Over 45,000 tickets have been sold for the Bears' 'Big Day Out' and they will be looking to match the off-field excitement with an on-field performance as they aim to halt their recent slide. 

Bristol begin the weekend in the Premiership's playoff places but have lost their last three matches. However, they have the chance to build some momentum for the closing weeks and possibly more, with Premiership leaders Bath giving some of their big guns the day off as they look to preserve their stars for challenges further down the line.  

Rugby Union Odds

Team News 

Lock Joe Batley is the latest Bristol player to recover from injury and has been named in the team for his first appearance in over six months. 

British & Irish Lions inclusion Ellis Genge starts at loosehead prop and fly-half AJ MacGinty makes his 50th appearance for the club. 

After beating Edinburgh last week to reach the final of the European Challenge Cup, Bath have rung the changes with hooker Jasper Spandler making his first Premiership appearance and young fly-half Ciaran Donoghue making his second Premiership start. 

Orlando Bailey will be at inside centre after recovering from a hand injury and second row Will Jeanes is in line for his league debut if required off the bench. 

Bristol vs Bath Odds

Bristol are 3/10 to win this nominal home contest when they run out at the Principality, with the draw 22/1 and Bath's starlets 11/4 to cause an upset.

Bristol -14 @ 7/5

Bath's youngsters showed in winning the Premiership Rugby Cup that they have the potential to play at the top level but having so many of them on the field in a Premiership game may cause them issues, and Bristol can benefit. 

The Bears have struggled with injuries this season and their preference for attacking from anywhere, regardless of the players available, means they have the second-worst defence in the league. 

However, they also have the second-best attack, behind Bath, and will look to put on a show to mark the club's ambitious move to stage their annual 'Big Day Out' fixture across the estuary, an occasion they hope will become a yearly trip. 

Pat Lam's team owe their fans a performance and can stem their three-match losing streak, and in style. 

The Bears won 36-26 when the clubs met at the Rec in October but a look at the line-ups suggests there are more than two converted scores between these teams and the -14 handicap appeals at 7/5.

Expecting Bristol to beat an underpowered Bath side by that margin or more seems reasonable. 

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