Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers Premiership Preview

Written 29th November

Leicester Tigers fans will not need reminding that a game against Northampton Saints will always be a huge occasion. Saturday 30th November sees derby day come around again and it is fair to say the pressure will be on both sides at Franklin’s Gardens.

The Gallagher Premiership is making a welcome return after a few weeks off following the start of the European competitions.

As well as the points, the bragging rights are of course on the line in the East Midlands. Each season, it is a fixture that many will have been looking forward to since the fixtures were announced.

The two sides have already met once this season, in the Premiership Rugby Cup back on 12th October. It was the Saints that came out with the 22-31 victory at Welford Road and the Tigers will be searching for a measure of revenge.

Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers

Date: 30th November 2019

Where: Franklin’s Gardens

When: Kick Off 3pm, Live on BT Sport

Referee: Matthew Carley

Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson & Wayne Falla.

TMO: Rowan Kitt.

Word From The Tigers Camp - Tom Youngs

LeoVegas were delighted to speak exclusively to Leicester Tigers captain Tom Youngs ahead of Saturday’s huge game at Northampton. Here is what he had to say:

LV: What has impressed you the most about the performances against Pau and Cardiff Blues?

TY: I’m very pleased with the performance the young lads put in at Cardiff. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win, and that’s the main thing. It’s what we’re in this game for. What they did that was so pleasing was they stuck to the game plan and stayed in the battle the whole time, which you could probably say we haven’t done – particularly last season – but it shows the improvements and the steps we’re making as a squad.

LV: Do you believe the wins in the Challenge Cup will give you momentum for the Premiership campaign?

TY: We know what we are, and we control what’s in the circle – not outside the circle – and again, it’s just momentum, isn’t it? It just helps keep ticking us over, helps the Monday mornings, and it’s also nice to see those guys who may have been a little bit in the background and trained very well through pre-season, to go out there as a squad and perform like that is very pleasing and helps us going into this weekend.

LV: Looking ahead to Saturday, would you say the derby against Northampton Saints is the biggest game of the season so far?

TY: One thing we’ve tried to keep away from this week is … not letting the emotion of the occasion get to us, and not let it determine our week. We’re seeing it as another Premiership game, which might have a bit of an edge. Everyone knows it’s a derby, everyone knows it’s Leicester versus Northampton. The best thing about any Northampton-Leicester game is they’re just cracking games of rugby. If you take all the emotion out of them and just look at them as a game of rugby, they’re fantastic.

Leicester Tigers Form

LWLWW

Sitting 11th in the Premiership, the table does not tell the full story for Leicester Tigers. It can be argued that performances have been better than the league position suggests and that things are coming together. A disappointing defeat at London Irish was sandwiched between a hard-fought 16-13 home win over Gloucester Rugby and wins over Pau and Cardiff Blues in the European Challenge Cup.

Last Time Out

Leicester Tigers will be pleased with the performance of the younger members of the squad last Saturday, as they made it two European Challenge Cup wins in a row. Cardiff Blues were the opponents for the Tigers’ away trip, and Geordan Murphy’s side came away with a 14-11 win.

In the first half, Leicester were behind after two penalties, but it was a great moment for Jordan Coghlan to grab his first Tigers try to get the club back into the game. As the whistle went for the break though, it was Cardiff ahead 11-8. Thankfully, that lead was not to last though as two Tom Hardwick penalties saw the Tigers take the points.

The result has left Pool 5 looking particularly satisfying at this early stage, as the Tigers have 9 points and sit pretty at the top, 3 points clear of Cardiff Blues.

Head To Head - Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints

As is often the case due to the incredible success of the club throughout history, it is Leicester Tigers that have a positive winning record against their big rivals.

Matches Played: 243

Leicester Tigers Wins: 136

Northampton Saints Wins: 88

Draws: 19

That being said, it is Northampton that have had the better of things recently with three victories in a row.

Current Rugby Betting Odds

In terms of the Leicester Tigers betting odds for the match, they go into the game as outsiders considering recent form and the fact that the match is on the road.

LEICESTER TIGERS TO WIN (REGULAR TIME) - ODDS 3/1

The Regular Time Market has the “Dead Heat” rule applied, which has online betting odds divided by 2 in case of a draw.

LEICESTER TIGERS TO WIN (REGULAR TIME 3-WAY) - ODDS 33/10

The Regular Time 3-Way market has a separate option for the draw.

Here at LeoVegas, we also offer handicap markets for the match too.

LEICESTER TIGERS +10.5 POINTS: HANDICAP - ODDS 4/5

This market means that Leicester Tigers will theoretically begin the game with a 10.5 point advantage, and this the bet would pay out as a winner if the Tigers either win the game or come within less than 11 points in a losing effort.

Keep an eye on the LeoVegas Sports blog throughout the rest of the season, as we bring you all of the Rugby betting tips and previews for each Leicester Tigers contest.

LeoVegas, proud partners of Leicester Tigers.

*All odds correct at the time of writing.