Sky Bet's Jordan Fiddes outlines where his money's going ahead of this weekend's games.
Sky Bet's Jordan Fiddes outlines where his money's going ahead of this weekend's Aviva Premiership games
The London Wasps welcome Northampton to Adams Park on Saturday in a bid to return to the form which saw them beat Harlequins last month, and I'm expecting a nice win for them over a higher placed team in the Aviva Premiership.
The London outfit have won all of their games at home this season, with opponents only gaining four league points there in the process. Against this weekend's opponents, however, the head-to-head record isn't quite as one-sided.
Northampton have beaten them 17 times in the Aviva Premiership, with Wasps winning 18, with the latter having notched up nearly 100 more points in the process.
It will be tries that win the game for Wasps on Saturday, they have the second best attack in the division and with Christian Wade in great form, the winger could be the key to that success.
He is 15/2 to score the first try on Saturday, something he has managed on two occasions already this season, and has also scored Wasps' first try in another two appearances.
Wade has scored 26 tries in 44 games in the Premiership, an average of well over 50 per cent of his games.
He has now scored four in his last five games, making him one of the form wingers in the competition and, after scoring 22 tries on the Sevens circuit back in 2011 he is due a few more before the season is out.
Also on Saturday, Leicester face a trip to Exeter to take on the Chiefs, who are on for a hat-trick of wins on the bounce.
The Tigers are favourites at 1/2 on and I'm expecting them to post a few points this weekend. In eight meetings between these two sides, Leicester have posted over 250 points, whereas Exeter are yet to reach a century.
When the two sides met back in September it was the club from the Midlands who ran out comfortable 30-8 victors, which could have been a lot more one-sided as the home side enjoyed over 60 per cent of the possession and excellent field position throughout.
The 2010 Champions will welcome back Toby Flood from the England team which was beaten by Wales, and the fly half has scored 31 points in his last three Premiership games for Leicester.
His half-back partner, Ben Youngs will also return for the Tigers who have won nearly 75 per cent of their games with the England scrum-half in the side.
The Tigers have been given a -5 handicap at 20/21 this weekend but, once again, I've found value in the 'Alternative Handicap' market.
For them to win by over 10 points, less than three tries, a feat they have managed twice in the last two years against this week's opposition, it's 15/8.
A word from the Sky Bet Trading Room...
"With all the internationals returning this weekend, the handicaps read quite different from a few weeks ago.
"Leicester are strong favourites this weekend but it's a lot tighter in the odds for Sunday's clash between the top two.
"Home advantage will probably prevail for Saracens and there has been plenty of action for them outright at around 4/9.
"Brad Barritt is popular in the try scoring market too and is likely to be a good price to score anytime.
"The England centre has scored 10 tries in 73 starts for the league leaders but he struggled in this year's Six Nations so his odds may have a bit of a reflection in that."
