Preview: Sale Sharks vs Bristol Bears - prediction, team news, lineups

Sale Sharks invited Bristol Bears to the CorpAcq Stadium connected Saturday day for the last gameweek of this season's regular Premiership Rugby campaign.

The Sharks threw distant a 25-point pb to suffer 45-42 distant astatine Newcastle Red Bulls past weekend, portion the Bears posted an awesome 21-19 triumph against Bath astatine Ashton Gate.

Match preview

After finishing 3rd and narrowly missing retired connected a spot successful the Premiership last past season, this twelvemonth has been hugely disappointing for Sale Sharks.

Winning lone 4 matches this campaign, the Sharks find themselves seventh successful the league array and an astonishing 29 points down the Exeter Chiefs who presently inhabit the last playoff position.

However, contempt a mediocre caller tally of form, losing 8 of their erstwhile 9 league fixtures, Alex Sanderson’s broadside inactive request to triumph astatine slightest a constituent this play successful bid to corroborate their information successful the European Champions Cup adjacent season.

Having won each of their erstwhile 2 matches against Bristol Bears astatine the CorpAcq Stadium, Sale volition beryllium hoping to extremity the play connected a precocious and assertion lone their sixth location triumph of the play successful each competitions.

Despite a superb derby triumph against a precocious flying Bath broadside past weekend, Exeter Chiefs’ triumph astatine Welford Road connected Sunday means Bristol Bears are incapable to decorativeness successful the apical 4 spots this season.

After convincing victories against some Newcastle Red Bulls and Gloucester, Pat Lam’s broadside looked good connected their mode to securing a playoff spot for the 4th clip successful their 8 twelvemonth Premiership tenure, nevertheless dense defeats to Saracens and Northampton Saints yet crushed those aspirations.

Heading into the last weekend, Bristol person already qualified for adjacent season’s Champions Cup but person thing other to play for, though tin leapfrog Saracens into 5th if Mark McCall’s men autumn to decision against Exeter astatine Sandy Park.

Having won lone 2 of their erstwhile 8 matches against Sale, the Bears volition beryllium hoping to capitalise connected their hosts’ mediocre signifier and extremity the play with a victory.

Sale Sharks Premiership form:

Sale Sharks signifier (all competitions): 

Bristol Bears Premiership form:

Bristol Bears signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Sanderson has made a brace of changes to the forwards that fell abbreviated astatine Kingston Park past play arsenic Alfie Longstaff and Reuben Logan marque mode for Nathan Jibulu and Tom Curry.

Tom O'Flaherty regains his spot connected the helping arsenic Tom Roebuck moves to outside-centre, portion Raffi Quirke is preferred to Gus Warr astatine scrum-half.

Pat Lam has named an wholly English matchday squad for Saturday afternoon, including 9 players from the Bears' academy setup.

Noah Heward, Harry Randall, James Dun, Joe Owen and Joe Batley are the lone players to diagnostic successful the 15 that besides started against Bath astatine Ashton Gate past weekend.

Sale Sharks starting lineup:

15 Carpenter, 14 O'Flaherty, 13 Roebuck, 12 Ma'asi-White, 11 Reed, 10 Ford, 9 Quirke; 1 Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Jibulu, 3 Harper, 4 van Rhyn, 5 Bamber, 6 Dugdale, 7 Kelly, 8 Curry

Replacements:

16 Longstaff, 17 McEachran, 18 Bell, 19 Andrews, 20 Logan, 21 Warr, 22 James, 23 Wills

Bristol Bears starting lineup:

15 Lane, 14 Heward, 13 Bates, 12 J. Jenkins, 11 Boshoff, 10 Worsley, 9 Randall; 1 Woolmore, 2 Gwilliam, 3 Lahiff, 4 Dun, 5 Taylor, 6 Owen, 7 Thacker, 8 Batley

Replacements:

16 Hill, 17 Grahamslaw, 18 Chawatama, 19 Halliwell, 20 K.Jenkins, 21 Wolstenholme, 22 Pepper, 23 Harris

We say: Sale Sharks 24-30 Bristol Bears

With Champions Cup rugby connected the enactment and facing a Bears broadside with thing to play for, it volition beryllium absorbing to spot whether the Sharks tin grind retired 1 last Premiership triumph to extremity what has been a disappointing play connected a precocious note.

While we bash not deliberation Sanderson's broadside volition person rather enough, we spot them coming distant from the lucifer with astatine slightest a constituent and securing a spot successful the apical eight.

>Click present to work the afloat previews of each Premiership Rugby crippled this weekend