Sale vs Northampton Prediction: Saints to march home with the spoils

Northampton Saints will hope to keep up with the pace at the top of the Gallagher Prem standings and end a long wait for a win in Salford when they take on Sale Sharks on Saturday evening (17:30, TNT Sports 1) at CorpAcq Stadium.

Alex Jack provides his best bets in his Sale vs Northampton Saints prediction piece, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the showdown in Salford.

Team news

Sale have gone with a front row of Bevan Rodd, Nathan Jibulu and James Harper, with Ernst van Rhyn and Ban Bamber in the second row.

Jacques Vermeulen, Sam Dugdale and Tom Curry are in the back row, while Raffi Quirke and George Ford pair up in the half-backs.

Rekeiti Ma'asi-White and Rob du Preez are the centres, with the Sharks going for a back three of Alex Wills, Tom O'Flaherty and Joe Carpenter.

As for Saints, Emmanuel Iyogun, Robbie Smith and Trevor Davison start in the front row, with Alex Coles and JJ Van Der Mescht packing down in the second row.

Josh Kemeny, Tom Pearson and Callum Chick complete the back row, while Alex Mitchell and Anthony Belleau start in the half-backs.

Fraser Dingwall and Rory Hutchinson start in the centres, with Edoardo Todaro, Tommy Freeman and George Hendy in the back three for Northampton.

Sale vs Northampton Saints Odds

Sale Sharks are 4/6 to earn the win on Saturday, while Northampton Saints are 5/4 to head back to the East Midlands with the spoils. A stalemate at CorpAcq Stadium is 22/1.

Northampton Saints to win @ 1/1

Having failed to win at CorpAcq Stadium since back in March 2017, this has not been a happy hunting ground for a Northampton side who have secured silverware in recent years.

Despite their poor record in Greater Manchester, this Saints side are tipped to head back to the East Midlands with the victory on Saturday.

Winning six of their last seven games in all competitions, the visitors find themselves in strong form ahead of their trip to Salford this weekend.

Northampton can also look back to their performance against Sale in the Gallagher Prem in December, with Saints running out 47-21 winners at Franklin's Gardens.

Admittedly, the Sharks are a different beast in their more familiar waters at CorpAcq Stadium, but Northampton have the weapons to hurt Sale this weekend.

Dingwall and Hutchinson make a formidable centre partnership and that allows England and British & Irish Lions star Freeman to return to his more familiar place on the wing.

With the likes of Henry Pollock and George Furbank able to make an impact off the bench, Saints are great value at 5/4 to end their winless streak in Salford and keep up the pace at the top of the Gallagher Prem standings.

Click the link for all the latest Rugby Union Odds