Saracens vs Northampton Saints Prediction: Sarries can put Saints to the sword

Saracens recorded decent victories over Bulls and Stade Francais in Europe and can bounce back from their recent Premiership disappointment with a win over champions Northampton.

Sarries left several of their big boys out after the international break and were made to pay as they went down 17-12 at Newcastle in their last domestic fixture.

Beating Bulls 27-5 and capitalising on a red card for Sekou Macalou to triumph 28-17 in Paris sets them up well in Europe though.

There was also joy for Saints, who defeated Castres 38-8 before heading to South Africa and battling the conditions to beat Bulls 30-21.

However, that victory came at a cost and fatigue could be a problem after a long week of travelling back from Pretoria.

The champions will also be without captain George Furbank, who could miss England's Six Nations campaign due to an arm injury suffered at Loftus Versfeld.

Northampton beat Saracens three times last season, but like their opponents they also lost some big names in the summer and still appear to be adapting.

Team news

Saracens centre Nick Tompkins has been selected to make his 200th appearance for the club and retains his starting role in a side that features four changes.

Prop Fraser Balmain and hooker Theo Dan come into the front row, while Theo McFarland shifts from the back row to join Mario Itoje at lock, making space for Juan Martin Gonzalez at blindside flanker.

The only change behind the scrum sees Liam Williams switch to the left wing, with Tobias Elliott starting on the right in place of Rotimi Segun, who drops out.

For Saints, scrum-half Alex Mitchell will make his 100th outing for the club against the team he debuted against in 2017.

Flanker Alex Coles will skipper the team, with George Hendy covering at full-back for injured club captain Furbank. Tighthead prop Trevor Davison also comes into the team.

Match odds - Saracens vs Northampton

Saracens are 1/4 to inflict a fifth league defeat of the campaign on their opponents, with the tie 22/1 and Northampton 3/1 to repeat last season's victory at the StoneX.

The three-way handicap is at nine points. Saracens -9 is 10/11.

Saracens -11 @ 11/10

There has been an inevitable freshness to Sarries' play this season and they start the round 10 points clear of the champions, who are still adapting to their summer departures and who have also been hit hard by injuries.

Sarries have lost their last two in the league, being beaten 32-29 at home by Leicester ahead of the internationals and there was real steel about how they played in their wins over Bulls and Stade.

There was also a touch of class, with Fergus Burke controlling things and a sense of nostalgia with Elliot Daly's sweeping pass for the returning Williams' try.

Northampton had the edge over Saracens last season but before the Tigers' defeat Mark McCall's side beat Sale by 19 points and Exeter by 15, so they are worth considering when handing out a -11 start.

Rugby Union Betting Tips from Betfred Insights.