Betting preview: Sale to win the battle of the north
With the European season getting towards its denouement, we look at the best bets from the Premiership, PRO14 and Top 14.
Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks
Possibly as a result of the injuries and suspensions that have engulfed the Sale backline over the past two weeks, the bookmakers have made the Falcons clear favourites for this encounter.
Denny Solomona, Mike Haley, James O’Connor and Will Addison are all missing from the Sharks’ squad and that is reflected in the odds, with the hosts best priced 8/15 at Sky Bet to beat their northern rivals.
The visitors are at full strength in the pack and at half-back, however, while the Tynesiders will be without Toby Flood, who has been replaced by Joel Hodgson.
Should the Greater Manchester outfit therefore get on the front foot then they still have the talent behind the scrum to cause them problems. Byron McGuigan has been outstanding while Marland Yarde has fitted in superbly since moving from Harlequins.
Despite containing those individuals, Steve Diamond’s men are seen as 9/4 (Bet Stars) outsiders to emerge triumphant at Kingston Park. That, alongside the 16/1 (bet365) odds for McGuigan to be first try-scorer, is worth a punt.
It has tended to be a tight game when these two teams have met in Newcastle and, for Sale to win by a margin of 1-7 points, Bet Stars has it at 19/5.
Edinburgh v Scarlets
Scarlets’ minds may well be focused on their upcoming Champions Cup semi-final, which is potentially why Edinburgh are 8/13 at bet365 to secure a victory at Murrayfield, but the visitors are still searching for top spot in Conference B.
The defending champions reside four points behind Leinster and will be looking for a win to provide them with an automatic route through to the semi-finals. Although the hosts have impressed under Richard Cockerill and did go on an excellent run, they were disappointing at home to Ulster last weekend.
Meanwhile, Wayne Pivac’s side, after comfortably dispatching Conference A leaders Glasgow Warriors, should be confident and are an enticing 13/8 with William Hill to beat Edinburgh.
Following their loss to the Irish province, Cockerill will expect a vast improvement from his charges but, if they falter once again, Pivac’s men are 6/1 at 188BET to win by over 13 points.
Should the Scottish outfit react well to last weekend’s loss, though, and the Welsh region’s greater quality eventually tell then an Edinburgh/Scarlets result at half-time/full-time is 15/2 at Sky Bet.
Toulon v Montpellier
One of the games of the weekend takes place on Saturday afternoon as Top 14 leaders Montpellier face Toulon in a huge clash in France.
Fabien Galthie’s men have struggled for consistency in 2017/18 but they have begun to perform far better, despite narrowly succumbing to Munster and Racing 92 over successive weekends.
The three-time European winners were unfortunate to go down to defeat in both of those encounters and the bookmakers fully expect them to dominate at home, with Marathonbet having them down at 11/50 to defeat their fellow title challengers.
However, irrespective of the hosts’ recent improvement, it seems odd to completely write off Vern Cotter’s side – a team that have spent most of the campaign at the top of the table.
While they can potentially relax, knowing that a victory at home next weekend should secure their passage into the semi-finals, 9/2 at bet365, Marathonbet and Betfair seems far too long for an outfit that have been excellent throughout this season.