Leinster vs Harlequins Predictions: No shocks expected at the Aviva

Leinster beat Harlequins 62-0 in the Round of 16 of last season's Champions Cup and will be confident of beginning their 2025-26 quest for European glory with another comfortable victory on Saturday (17:30 GMT).

The four-time winners have had a slow start to the campaign, heavily rotating after a dozen of their players toured with the British & Irish Lions and then even more went away with Ireland for the Autumn Internationals.

They look fully loaded for Saturday's game at the Aviva against a Harlequins team that lost 26-15 at Gloucester last weekend to extend their losing streak on the road in all competitions to nine matches.

With a winnable home fixture against Bayonne next weekend, Quins' selection shows their priorities are elsewhere.

Another dismal evening in Dublin beckons before setting their Champions Cup stall out in earnest next Sunday back at Twickenham Stoop.

Leinster vs Harlequins Odds

Leinster's superiority means they are not included in the Match Betting market, with the draw available at 28/1 and Harlequins priced at 14/1.

The Handicap 3-way is set at 33 points, with Leinster -33 available at 20/21.

Team News

Lock Joe McCarthy comes straight into the home side, having not played since the first British & Irish Lions Test in July due to a foot injury.

Captain Caelan Doris and Jack Conan will also make their seasonal debuts, while All Black Rieko Ioane is set for his first Leinster appearance after being named among the replacements.

Left wing Cadan Murley will captain Harlequins, who hand Argentina international loosehead prop Boris Wenger his first start.

Wales' Jarrod Evans runs the team from fly-half, but Marcus Smith, Fin Baxter, Chandler Cunningham-South, Jack Kenningham are all rested.

Leinster -35 @ 21/20

Last April's 62-0 reverse bordered on embarrassing for Quins and may not have helped Leinster, as they eventually fell to Northampton in the semi-finals, ending their three-season run of losing in the final.

By next May's final in Bilbao, it will be six years since the Dublin outfit lifted the Champions Cup and, as Ireland's diminishing returns in November suggested, time might be running out for their 'Golden Generation'.

Ioane may give them fresh impetus in midfield, as Jordie Barrett did last season and despite their age, the pedigree of the Leinster players is without question.

The set-up is also far more settled than Quins, who lost coach Danny Wilson to Wales weeks before the start of the PREM season and while decent at home, are poor on the road.

Quins have chosen to leave some of their key players out for Saturday's match at the Aviva Stadium, with Bayonne due to visit next week and their losing run looks set to be extended to 10 and with plenty to spare.

A repeat Leinster win by over 50 points is 9/2, but the handicap markets look safer.

With 33 points priced at 20/21, it is worth pushing beyond evens, with Leinster -35 available at 21/20.

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