Bristol vs Newcastle Red Bulls Prediction: No festive mercy from big-scoring Bears

Bristol Bears take on Newcastle Red Bulls in the Gallagher PREM on Saturday (15:00 GMT, Discovery+) at Ashton Gate Stadium.

Below you can find my Bristol vs Newcastle Red Bulls predictions, alongside team news and match odds.

Rugby Union Odds

There's been more excitement around Newcastle Red Bulls this week with the news that Kiwi number eight Hoskins Sotutu will join next season.

The buzz around the 14-cap All Black is boosted by his eligibility for England through his mother, but the Red Bulls first need to start getting it right on the field.

Still to win this season, Newcastle's final game of 2025 is a tough trip to an impressive Bristol side.

The Bears beat Harlequins 40-14 last Saturday, their fourth win in a row, and their only home defeat this season came against Bath in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

With Newcastle averaging 49 points conceded on the road, Bristol could run riot at Ashton Gate.

Team News

Scrum-half Harry Randall, who signed a new contract earlier this week, will make his 150th appearance for the Bears and partners Tom Jordan in the halves.

George Taylor will make his first PREM start in the second row, and Fitz Harding captains the team from openside flanker.

Newcastle have made only one change from last Sunday's 50-14 defeat to Bath, Tom Gordon coming in at blindside flanker.

Bristol vs Newcastle Red Bulls Odds

Bristol are the obvious 1/80 favourites to win on Saturday, with the draw 28/1 and Newcastle 14/1 to claim their first victory of the season.

The 3-way handicap mark is set at 33 points, with Bristol -33 priced at 10/11.

Bristol -36 @ 6/5

Sotutu's signing is the latest statement of intent from Newcastle's owners. They have sought to improve the club's infrastructure and matchday experience for fans, and are attracting decent crowds to Kingston Park.

However, the Red Bulls have yet to win in the league this season but have shown signs of improvement, including a 23-14 victory at Lyon in the Challenge Cup.

They backed it up with a 14-10 European success against the Lions but were brought back down to earth by last Sunday's 50-14 home defeat to a heavily rotated Bath line-up.

Bath ran in eight tries, and that is also an area where Bristol excel. They scored six tries in their win in Quins' annual 'Big Game' fixture at Twickenham, and their 31 tries scored is the fourth-highest in the PREM and significantly better than Newcastle's 14.

A look at the statistics shows the Bears are a step ahead of the Red Bulls on both sides of the ball.

Injuries have been an issue for Pat Lam, but his team keeps putting in performances and were fifth in the standings heading into Christmas.

A top-four finish has to be their target for 2026, and they have won their last five meetings against Newcastle.

They have also won the last six Ashton Gate meetings, and the two most recent have been high-scoring, with Bristol winning 84-14 and 55-35.

Expect another big home win for Lam's exciting side.

Rugby Union betting tips from Betfred Insights.