Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby Premiership Preview
Written: 21st August 2020
Leicester Tigers are back at Welford Road after a long absence, but it will be far from a normal event. Games for the foreseeable future will be played behind closed doors, meaning that unfortunately fans will be unable to attend. As such, supporters are instead asked to please not visit the stadium and instead enjoy the game at home via the BT Sport coverage. Season ticket holders are able to obtain a free BT Sport Match Pass for the game.
In terms of the return to rugby, Leicester Tigers had their first Gallagher Premiership match back last week, an away trip to Exeter. Unfortunately it was a tough ask on their return against the league leaders and the Tigers fell to a 26-13 defeat. A penalty try and points from the boot of George Ford were not enough to claim a result for a much changed Leicester side.
The long break has seen a major overhaul of the playing squad as the side only included six of the players that had started the last game before the break against Saracens. Due to this aspect, it will likely take a bit of time for the new look squad to fully gel together as a unit.
This game against Bath will provide an excellent test for new head coach Steve Borthwick. We can’t focus too much on overall form considering the long break, but the Tigers have won their last four home matches in all competitions.
Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby
22nd August 2020
Where: Welford Road
When: Kick Off 4:30pm
Referee: Karl Dickson (27th Premiership game)
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Hamish Smales
TMO: David Grashoff
Word From The Tigers Camp - Ben White
LeoVegas were delighted to speak exclusively to Leicester Tigers player Ben White ahead of Saturday’s game at home to Bath Rugby. Here is what he had to say:
LV: How pleased are you to be back playing proper games of Rugby after such a long time off?
BW: I really enjoyed being back out there. It’s definitely something that you miss doing when you’re in lockdown and as soon as it’s taken away from you, you realise how much you love doing it and you really miss it, so it was awesome to get back on the pitch and I enjoyed myself.
LV: How much will you miss the fans at Welford Road while they're not allowed to be with you?
BW: It’s a place that I’ve gone and watched at as a kid, and just enjoyed being around it. Welford Road is a great stadium and a great venue, and when there are fans there it’s amazing and the atmosphere is awesome, but it’s just always a great place to play and I thoroughly enjoy getting the chance to run out there.
LV: What are the aims for the rest of the season?
BW: We want to give it our all in every game and show how much it means to the fans for us to do well. All of the lads that are here now have bought into the vision and the view of how we want to play and how hard we want to work.
LV: What would you say are the specific strengths of Bath that you'll need to nullify?
BW: Bath are a good side with top quality players like most teams in the league, but we have to look at what we do in the week and how we adapt to them and make sure that we’ve practiced our game plan throughout the week. All the way through this mini pre-season block we’ve put that into the game and our focus is on us and how we want to play the game, and to dictate how we make Bath play the game.
Head To Head - Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby
In recent history, Bath have done quite well against the Tigers, winning the last three Premiership meetings between the sides, which has been their best run against Leicester since between 1990 and 92. One thing that may go in Leicester’s favour though is the fact that Bath have not won three in a row at Welford Road since 1913.
Current Rugby Betting Odds
In terms of the Leicester Tigers betting odds for the match, Bath Rugby go into the match as slight favourites, but it’s expected to be close.
Leicester Tigers To Win: 19/20
The Regular Time Market has the “Dead Heat” rule applied, which has online sports betting odds divided by 2 in case of a draw.
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 +1.5 Handicap: 10/13
This market means that Leicester Tigers will theoretically begin the game with a 1.5 point advantage, and this bet would pay out as a winner if the Tigers win the game by 2 points or more.
Keep an eye on the LeoVegas Sports blog throughout the rest of the season, as we bring you all of the Rugby betting odds and previews for each Leicester Tigers match.
LeoVegas, proud partners of Leicester Tigers.
*All odds correct at the time of writing.