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 vital Aviva Premiership games
We're coming to the business end of the season in the Aviva Premiership where every point, every try and every player counts.
There are two mouth-watering clashes on Saturday with all four teams having something to play for.
In the televised fixture Leicester Tigers travel to the Northampton Saints in an attempt to close the gap on table-toppers Saracens, whereas the Saints will be hoping to leap frog Harlequins into third and further advantage in the play-offs.
Northampton have had some impressive results in recent weeks, inflicting London Wasps' first home defeat of the season last week and hammering the Irish Exiles at Franklins Gardens two weeks ago.
But with both teams chasing a semi-final play-off spot, this derby has more spice than usual and should be a close encounter.
The bookies agree, giving Leicester a slender
+2 start in the handicap market.
I'll be going for Leicester outright however, due to their recent form in this fixture.
In 2012, Leicester travelled to Northampton under similar circumstances and recorded a 35-21 bonus point victory, moving them up to second in the table at the time.
That was their first victory at Franklins Gardens since 2006, however the Tigers are dominant when it comes to the head-to-heads between these two arch rivals.
In 47 games, Leicester have run out victorious on 32 occasions, with the Saints winning just 14.
In this time, they have racked up nearly 1,000 points and the Tigers kickers have added the extras on 59 instances.
That suggests Leicester like to score points in this fixture and, as they chase top spot, will be looking to gain the bonus point for a successive year.
Form is key
Also on Saturday, the team everyone is chasing, Saracens, take on the London Wasps in another vital Premiership fixture.
The current league leaders are marginal favourites at
8/11, yet it's worth getting slightly better odds of
10/11 on the -2 handicap.
If the Saracens are going to inflict a second defeat in a row on the Wasps at home, they are likely to do this by more than two points.
In their last nine victories, Saracens have won by more than two and in their last 19 wins in all competitions they have won by more than four.
When the two sides met back in November 2012, Sarries recorded a 29-24 victory at home, however they matched that five point margin last season at Adams Park.
This is a must win for London Wasps, yet they come into the game having lost their last three and I'm expecting Saracens to inflict more pain as they look for a fifth win on the bounce in the Aviva Premiership.
View from the Sky Bet trading room...
"Sarries have the meanest defence in the competition, whereas Wasps have the worst of all the teams in the top half.
Therefore, we've already seen plenty of action in the '
Alternative Handicap' markets, mainly Saracens to win by more than 11 points at
9/4.
Exeter are proving popular with the punters also.
They are
6/4 to win the game outright and given that the Warriors have won just one game in their last seven Premiership games, this could be good value indeed."
