Preview: Leicester Tigers vs. Sale Sharks - prediction, team news, lineups

The second Gallagher Premiership finalist will be confirmed on Saturday afternoon when the Leicester Tigers take on Sale Sharks in the semi-final at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium. 

The hosts ended the group stage in second place with 61 points, 11 points behind leaders Bath Rugby, while the visitors edged Bristol Bears to clinch third place with 58 points. 

Match preview

Leicester Tigers are back in the playoffs for a record 16th time, and secured home advantage last week after cruising to a comfortable 42-20 victory against basement club Newcastle Falcons at this venue.

Historically, home advantage has played a significant role in Premiership semi-finals, with teams playing on the road only managing six wins out of 37 matches since the current format’s inception. 

Second spot is the best finish the Tigers have managed in the domestic league since they lifted the trophy back in 2022 under Steve Borthwick, while their last playoff appearance came in 2023, when they were beaten in the semi-final 21-13 by their upcoming opponents. 

Under the guidance of head coach Michael Cheika, Leicester has experienced a resurgence after ending last season in a disappointing eighth in the standings, while key players like Olly Cracknell and Ollie Hassell-Collins have also been instrumental in this turnaround. 

The hosts will enter this match with plenty of confidence, having won four of their last five matches, with the only exception being a 43-15 defeat to table-topping Bath Rugby at the Rec on May 17. 

Meanwhile, Sale Sharks were under heavy pressure for much of the match last weekend against Exeter, who once again raised their game, but when Sale found their rhythm, they looked like genuine contenders for this season’s title. 

That performance capped off a very strong end to the season for Sale, in which they lost only one of their final five games, though it is worth pointing out that defeat came here at Welford Road Stadium just shy of a month ago. 

However, aside from last week’s away victory, the Sharks also put in a commanding performance to beat Harlequins 43-29 on the road last month, showing that they can deliver on enemy territory when needed. 

In terms of key stats, Leicester have a lower gainline success rate (55.8%) compared to Sale (61%), but the Tigers slightly outperform the Sharks in turning offloads into tries, converting 6.4% of successful offloads into scores compared to Sale’s 5.4%. 

On the defensive end, Leicester have a slightly lower tackle success rate (84.6%) than Sale (86.5%), and also boasts a higher success rate when exiting their own 22, completing 91.6% of exit attempts compared to the Sharks’ 89.4%.

Leicester Tigers Gallagher Premiership form: LWWWLW

Sale Sharks Gallagher Premiership form: WLWLWW

Team News

Springbok fly-half Handre Pollard is coming into this match with 147 points accumulated so far this season, averaging 85% from the tee, and will have a massive role to play against master conductor George Ford. 

Both Dan Cole and Ben Youngs made the starting lineup last week and produced excellent performances, which should see them keep their places in what will be their final appearances at Mattioli Woods Welford Road before they retire this summer. 

England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie returned to the Sharks pack last week after missing the victory over the Bears in round 17, and he will likely start this weekend alongside Bevan Rodd and Asher Opoku-Fordjour in the front row. 

Raffi Quirke and George Ford are expected to link up at half-back, with Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and the ultra-consistent Rob du Preez likely lining up outside them in the midfield pairing. 

Leicester Tigers possible starting lineup:

15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Solomone Kata, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs; 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Nicky Smith

Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Cronin, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Matt Rogerson, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Mike Brown

Sale Sharks possible starting lineup:

15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 JL du Preez, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd, 

Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Luke James, 23 Alex Wills.

We say: Leicester Tigers 38-32 Sale Sharks

While Sale put in a massive effort to hold off a stubborn Exeter side last weekend, the Tigers at home are a different beast. Leicester beat the Sharks by 10 when they met here at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium last month, and we feel the hosts will come out on top in this one as well. 

Written by
Devesh Jaganath

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