Bath vs Leicester Prediction: Tigers to enjoy trip to the Rec

As storied rivalries go, Bath against Leicester Tigers is one of the biggest in English rugby union, and these two face off in the final round of fixtures in the Gallagher Premiership at the Recreation Ground on Saturday.

A win for either side will see them secure second place in the table and a home play-off semi-final tie, while the loser could end up down in fourth and face an away trip to Northampton Saints. Below are my Bath vs Leicester predictions, as well as all the essential team news and match odds from Betfred.

Team News

Bath have made three changes from the defeat to Bristol Bears, with Josh Bayliss and Alfie Barbeary coming into the back row in place of Ethan Staddon and Guy Pepper.

In the continued absence of Finn Russell, Santi Carreras moves from full-back to fly-half, with Ciaran Donoghue dropping out and Tom de Glanville taking the 15 shirt.

Leicester have made four alterations from the loss to Exeter Chiefs. In the forwards, George Martin is replaced in the second row by Cameron Henderson and Olly Cracknell is in at number eight, taking Joaquin Moro's spot.

There is a change at fly-half, where James O'Connor returns in place of Charlie Titcombe, while Gabriel Hamer-Webb comes in on the wing for Ollie Hassell-Collins

Bath vs Leicester Odds

Bath are the 2/7 favourites to pick up the win, with the draw priced at 16/1 and Leicester 3/1 to get one over on their rivals at an implied probability of 25%.

Leicester +10 @ 5/6

Bath struggled without talisman Russell last week in the defeat to Bristol and the Scotland international's absence for this crucial contest could be felt hard again.

Carreras has switched from full-back to fly-half for this clash and, while he boasts a 100% record wearing the number 10 jersey this season (against Newcastle and Sale), he kicked only eight of his 13 attempts, which doesn't bode well ahead of this pressure tie.

Bath are also struggling for form, losing four of their last five matches in all competitions, and they could find themselves under pressure against a determined Leicester, who won 47-33 in their last away outing at Sale.

The Tigers have won seven of their last nine Gallagher Prem matches and the two defeats suffered during that period were by four and nine-point margins, so backing them at +10 on the handicap looks like a smart choice.