Sale vs Exeter Chiefs Prediction: Chiefs can get past toothless Sharks

Premiership action continues on Sunday (15:00) with Exeter Chiefs’ trip to the Salford Community Stadium to face Sale Sharks, who are on a torrid run of form. The Chiefs put an end to their three-game losing streak across all competitions with a 25-16 victory over bottom of the table Newcastle Falcons last weekend, moving Rob Baxter’s side to fourth in the standings. 

Meanwhile, the Sharks extended their losing streak to six successive games with a 42-24 defeat at Bath last time out, leaving them in eighth and eight points behind fourth-placed Exeter. Here are our Sale vs Exeter Chiefs predictions, including team news and match odds.

Team news 

The big news for Sale is that captain Ben Curry returns to the starting line-up in the back-row in place of Sam Dugdale - who scored a try last weekend and is named on the bench. 

An unchanged front-row will see Luke Cowan-Dickie - who has recently signed a one year contract extension at the club - slotting in between Bevan Rodd and James Harper. 

There is also a sole change in the backs with Tom O’Flaherty included to face his former employers from the off as he comes in for Arron Reed. 

A split of 6-2 on the bench sees Raffi Quirke and Sam James as the sole covers for the backline, while the forward replacement options include Asher Opoku-Forjour, Hyron Andrews and Tommy Taylor. 

Exeter will have a number of internationals returning for club duties after representing their countries in the Six Nations. 

Henry Slade comes into the centre to partner the inexperienced Will Rigg, while winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has passed his concussion tests in order to regain a starting spot. 

Captain Dafydd Jenkins makes his return to the starting line-up in the second row alongside fellow Welshman Christ Tshiunza, while Italian Ross Vintcent is included from the off having come off the bench against Newcastle. 

Baxter has opted for a 5-3 split on the bench, with Dan Frost, Lewis Pearson and Zack Wimbush all expected to be brought on at some point. 

Match Odds 

Sale’s home advantage makes them the favourites to claim victory at 1/3, whereas the Chiefs are 12/5 to take the points back to Devon. 

A draw can be backed at 20/1, while the draw at half-time provides odds of 11/1. 

Exeter Chiefs to win @ 12/5 

Despite playing in front of their own fans, Sale could struggle to claim victory on Sunday given their recent form here. 

Alex Sanderson’s side have lost each of their last two on home soil in all competitions, including a 22-14 defeat against the Bristol Bears in the league. 

The Chiefs, meanwhile, have won each of the last three head-to-heads with the Sharks and the influence of returning internationals could provide the required quality to help them see off Sale once again this weekend.