PREM Rugby round nine: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White starts at centre for Sale Sharks against Bristol Bears.
Round Nine of the PREM season gets underway on Friday night with two matches before another couple on Saturday is followed by Leicester Tigers v Saracens on Sunday.
Friday’s action sees Bristol Bears host Sale Sharks while strugglers Newcastle Red Bulls and Gloucester meet at Kingston Park in what will be another intriguing tie.
On Saturday there is Bath v Exeter Chiefs ahead of table toppers Northampton Saints hosting an out-of-sorts Harlequins before Sunday sees Leicester take on Saracens.
Check on the PREM team news, our predictions, the match officials and more below.
Friday
Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks
Prediction: Bristol Bears by 7
Bristol Bears: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Aidan Boshoff, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Owen, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 George Kloska, 19 George Taylor, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Noah Heward
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Alex Wills, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Patreece Bell, 19 Tom Burrow, 20 Jos Gilmore, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Gurshwin Wehr
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Joe James
Assistant Referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys, Greg Macdonald
TMO: David Rose
How to watch: TNT Sports
Newcastle Red Bulls v Gloucester
Prediction: Newcastle Red Bulls by 3
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Ethan Grayson, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Tom Gordon, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Oscar Usher, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 George McGuigan (c), 1 Murray McCallum
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 James Elliott, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Oli Spencer
Gloucester: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Jack Cotgreave, 13 Will Knight, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Tomos Williams (c), 8 Jack Clement, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Deain Gwynne, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Freddie Thomas, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 2 Will Crane, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 George Knowles, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 James Venter, 21 Mikey Austin, 22 George Barton, 23 Josh Hathaway
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Richard Gordon, Wayne Falla
TMO: Peter Allan
How to watch: discovery+
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Saturday
Bath v Exeter Chiefs
Prediction: Bath by 6
Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Scott Kirk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Louie Hennessey, 23 Arthur Green
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Olly Woodburn, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Ethan Roots, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Jimmy Roots, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Kane James, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Dan John
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 15:05 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Dean Richards
How to watch: TNT Sports
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Northampton Saints v Harlequins
Prediction: Northampton by 18
Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Edoardo Todaro, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 James Ramm, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 2 Robbie Smith, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Oliver Scola, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Sam Graham, 21 Archie McParland, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Rory Hutchinson
Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Jarrod Evans, 11 Cassius Cleaves, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Lucas Friday, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizábal, 3 Harry Williams, 2 George Turner, 1 Will Hobson
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Elliot Williams, 20 Joe Launchbury, 21 Zach Carr, 22 Will Porter, 23 Bryn Bradley
Venue: cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Sara Cox
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Neil Chivers
TMO: Andrew Jackson
How to watch: TNT Sports
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Sunday
Leicester Tigers v Saracens
Prediction: Saracens by 5
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Sam Williams, 6 James Thompson, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Emeka Ilione, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Ollie Allan, 22 Will Wand, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Max Malins, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan Van Zyl (c), 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Andy Onyeama Christie, 22 Charlie Bracken, 23 Alex Lozowski
Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson, Calum Howard
TMO: Stuart Terheege
How to watch: TNT Sports