Northampton Saints vs Leicester Tigers Prediction: Saints to secure sweet revenge

Having been thumped by their arch rivals at Welford Road last month, Northampton Saints will be looking for revenge on Friday night (7:45pm BST, TNT Sports 2) when they take on Leicester Tigers in the first Gallagher Prem play-off semi-final of the season at Franklin’s Gardens.

Below are my Northampton Saints vs Leicester Tigers predictions, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the clash in the East Midlands.

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Team News

Starting with Northampton, the Saints go with Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon and Elliot Millar Mills in the front row, while it's Alex Coles and Ed Prowse who get the nod in the second row.

Josh Kemeny, Tom Pearson and Henry Pollock start in the back row, while Archie McParland and Fin Smith pair up again in the half-backs.

Rory Hutchinson and Tom Litchfield are the starting centres, while Saints boss Phil Dowson has gone with a back three of George Hendy, Tommy Freeman and skipper George Furbank.

As for the Tigers, Leicester have a front row of Nicky Smith, Jamie Blamire and Joe Heyes, with locks George Martin and skipper Ollie Chessum in the second row.

Hanro Liebenberg, Tommy Reffell and Joaquin Moro complete the Tigers pack, while Jack van Poortvliet and Billy Searle are reunited in the half-backs.

Leicester have Orlando Bailey and Will Wand in the centres, with Ollie Hassell-Collins, Adam Radwan, Freddie Steward in the back three.

Northampton Saints vs Leicester Tigers Odds

Northampton are the 4/9 favourites to triumph in the 80 minutes, while Leicester are 2/1 to cause an upset at Franklin’s Gardens.

A draw at the end of regular time is 16/1, while Saints to be leading at both half time and full time are 10/11.

Northampton Saints -7 handicap @ 11/10

Unbeaten in the Prem this season at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton have a formidable home record heading into this semi-final.

Guaranteed a home semi-final going into the final round of the regular season, this is a largely fit and fresh Saints XV who will take to the field on Friday evening.

Northampton are on an 11-game winning run at home in all competitions and they will be determined to set the record straight after their 41-17 defeat at Welford Road against Leicester last month.

The Tigers are not the best travellers, with three defeats in their last four games on the road and Northampton are tipped to claim the win and cover the handicap to book their place in the Grand Final on 20 June.

Tommy Freeman anytime tryscorer @ 5/6

Enjoying a strong end to the season, it would be little surprise to see Saints star Tommy Freeman score at least one try in this one.

Freeman crossed for a brace of tries in that defeat at Leicester last month and he now has 21 tries for both club and country this season.

Those looking to push the boat out can consider Freeman at 8/1 to score the opening try, while he's fancied at 5/6 in the anytime tryscorer market here.