Exeter Chiefs vs Sale Prediction: Chiefs ready to respond after cup woe

Exeter were well beaten 66-14 by Leicester in last Sunday's Premiership Rugby Cup final, but can recall several international stars for the resumption of their league campaign when Sale visit on Saturday. The Chiefs lost to Bath and Bristol to go into the Six Nations break fifth in the standings, a point outside the top four.

Meanwhile, Sale resume seventh, 16 points shy of the play-offs, and are possibly already planning for April 3's Champions Cup last-16 trip to Harlequins. The Sharks' last game was a 41-36 cup win over Bristol at Ashton Gate on February 28. They had lost five in a row before that and have won only once in their last nine trips to Sandy Park in all competitions. Read on for my Exeter Chiefs vs Sale predictions.

Exeter Chiefs vs Sale Odds

Exeter are 3/10 to win on Saturday, with Sale 11/4 and a tie priced at 18/1. The 3-way handicap mark is set at 10 points, with the Chiefs -10 available at 10/11.

Team News

Exeter have included Georgia prop Bachuki Tchumbadze, Wales' Dafydd Jenkins, who captains the side, and Italy's Andrea Zambonin in their pack.

Another Azzurri international, Stephen Varney, starts at scrum-half and England's Henry Slade is at outside centre.

Former Australia prop Scott Sio and current Wallabies star Tom Hooper have also recovered from injury to start at loosehead and blindside flanker, respectively.

Sale have named an unchanged pack from the Prem Rugby Cup win at Bristol on February 28, while Raffi Quirke, who has been away as part of England's wider training group, comes in at scrum-half.

Exeter -11 @ 20/21

The Chiefs may have lost their last home game to Bristol, but the 8-3 scoreline tells you that it was a match played in atrocious conditions in Devon.

Saturday's forecast is far more amenable and should allow Exeter to throw the ball around as they look to put last Sunday's heavy loss to Leicester behind them.

Without several of his internationals, Rob Baxter used the Prem Rugby Cup to blood some youngsters, but he has named a seriously strong side for his team's first league game since January.

Jenkins and Zambonin both had excellent Six Nations and could carry that form on against a Sale side who have been getting their admin done for next season during the league's hiatus, with several outgoings confirmed this week.

Alex Sanderson's side appears to be drifting and, with a top-four spot unlikely, this game and next week's home fixture against Bath are about putting the building blocks in place for their Champions Cup game against Quins.

Sale have only won once at Sandy Park since 2020 and have lost all five of their away games in this season's Prem.

Exeter beat them 59-14 in the cup on January 31 and, having also won November's reverse fixture 27-26, it is hard not to expect another home victory.

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