Sale vs Bath Prediction: Leaders can maintain gap at the top

Bath’s England stars might be away on international duty ahead of the Six Nations, but the Premiership frontrunners still have a star-studded line-up heading to Sale Sharks on Sunday (15:00, ITV4).

Read on for my Sale vs Bath predictions, featuring the latest odds and team news.

Sale vs Bath Odds

Bath are the favourites as they make their way up the M5 and M6, with the Blue, Black and Whites at 8/15 to claim the win at the Salford Community Stadium.

Sale are the 13/8 underdogs going into this one, while a draw on Sunday afternoon is available at 18/1.

Team News

Sale start with Si McIntyre, Ethan Caine and Willgriff John in the front row and Ernst van Rhyn and Hyron Andrews in the second row.

Jean-Luc du Preez, Sam Dugdale and Dan du Preez make up the back row, with Gus Warr and skipper Rob du Preez in the half-backs.

Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and Will Addison form the centres, with Arron Reed, Tom O’Flaherty and Joe Carpenter in the back three.

As for the visitors, Bath have a front row consisting of Beno Obano, Niall Annett and Thomas Du Toit, with Quinn Roux and Charlie Ewels in the second row.

Josh Bayliss, Alfie Barbeary and Miles Reid form a mobile back row, with Finn Russell joined by Louis Schreuder in the half-backs.

Will Butt and Max Ojomoh will combine in the centres, with a back three of Ruaridh McConnochie, Tom de Glanville and Joe Cokanasiga.

Bath -6 @ 11/10

Bath head to Greater Manchester on the back of a good recent record against Sale, having beaten the Sharks in all of their last three meetings in the Premiership.

The last time these sides met was at The Recreation Ground earlier this season, with Bath running out 40-13 winners that day in October.

With Bath dealing with injuries and the likes of Ted Hill, Will Stuart and Ollie Lawrence away on England duty, it’s unlikely to be such a one-sided affair at the Salford Community Stadium this weekend.

However, the fact Bath can keep hold of star fly-half Russell for another weekend before he joins up with the Scotland squad is a massive boost for boss Johan van Graan.

A back three that includes McConnochie, De Glanville and Cokanasiga is also an exciting prospect for the visitors, who should have just too much quality in the back division for Sale this weekend.

With Russell pulling the strings, expect Bath to come out on top and cover the -6 handicap in the process to keep clear at the top of the Premiership table.

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