Sale vs Harlequins Predictions: Sharks to keep play-off hopes alive

Sale and Harlequins are among the glut of clubs still in the play-off hunt, with the top eight in the Gallagher Premiership separated by just 12 points. With four rounds to play, the pair meet at the AJ Bell on Sunday (KO, 15:00).

Ahead of this weekend's game I have noted all the latest team news and match odds below, and offered my Sale vs Harlequins prediction.

Quins start the weekend fourth in the table on 42 points while the Sharks sit eighth on 37, which means a home win could see Alex Sanderson's side draw level with their visitors, who will be full of confidence after reaching the semi-finals of the Champions Cup courtesy of last Saturday's epic 42-41 win over Bordeaux.

Sale had last weekend off after losing 23-15 at Ospreys in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup on March 6 and, after reaching last season's Premiership Grand Final, have failed to put a run together in 2023/24.

Now is the time to transform their fortunes. They are generally excellent at home - losing only once in the league since October 2022 - and look good to seal a big win in Salford.

Team News

Sale wing Arron Reed returns to the starting XV to make his 100th appearance for the club.

The Sharks' other change sees Sam Dugdale come in at openside flanker and there is also a milestone for scrum-half Raffi Quirke, who makes his 50th appearance.

Quins have recalled the experienced duo of prop Joe Marler and scrum-half Danny Care, both of whom missed out in Bordeaux.

The former starts in the front row, with Care waiting for his opportunity off the bench behind Will Porter.

Match Odds

Sale are the 3/10 favourites heading into the game, giving them an implied win probability of 76.9%, with Harlequins 13/5 - or a 27.8% chance - and a draw 20/1.

Sale -10 handicap @ 5/4

Sale looked ready to take the next step after losing in last year's Premiership Grand Final but have failed to kick on this season.

Injuries have not helped, but their shortcomings are more to do with inconsistency. When they are hot, they are steaming but when they are cold, they are freezing.

That defeat to Ospreys was their seventh in eight outings, a run that has seen them crash out of Europe and left the Sharks in a position where they may need to win four in a row to make the semi-finals.

However, the odd one out in that run was at home, beating Exeter 41-5 on a day when everything went right.

Tom Roebuck ran in a hat-trick and he, Reed and Joe Carpenter will look to get the edge on an equally talented Quins' back three of wings Louis Lynagh and Caden Murley, and last week's player of the match in Bordeaux, full-back Tyrone Green.

The trio who receive the most ball is likely to dominate Sunday's game, but a Quins win similar to their 36-3 success in the reverse fixture feels unlikely.

Quins have won six of their last nine away games but may not have come down from last week's high. Having won on only one of their last 10 trips to Salford, they could struggle again and Sale have the chance to secure a season-saving victory with a bit to spare.

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