Bath v Leicester: Teams

England lock Steve Borthwick will go straight into the Bath line-up for their EDF Energy Cup clash with defending champions Leicester Tigers.

Club captain Borthwick has missed the start of the season due to his commitments at the World Cup, however he will partner the in-form Peter Short in the second row.

Nick Abendanon, who was called up to the England World Cup squad as cover for the final, is also named in the starting XV after returning from France - with Michael Stephenson moving to the wing.

Leicester coach Richard Cockerill has shuffled his line up as his side kick-off their cup defence at Bath.

A youthful looking Tigers side sees Ian Humphreys and Gavin Hickie return after injury, while young props Dave Young and Dan Cole come into the front row for the sidelined Boris Stankovich and Martin Castrogiovanni.

Opportunity

England Saxons lock Richard Blaze is handed his first start, while Argentinean Marcos Ayerza is named among the replacements.

Cockerill told the club's official site: "We have a couple of guys coming back from injury and also we have some guys who need some game-time and an opportunity.

"Some of the guys we have not seen a lot of so far have a good opportunity on Saturday to show the coaches they are worthy of a start.

"We have put some fresh legs out there, some with a point to prove, but this is still a good team because we think our squad is good across the board."

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Andy Higgins, 13 Alex Crockett, 12 Tom Cheeseman, 11 Michael Stephenson, 10 Ryan Davis, 9 Michael Claassens, 1 David Flatman, 2 Rob Hawkins, 3 Paulica Ion, 4 Steve Borthwick, 5 Peter Short, 6 Andy Beattie, 7 James Scaysbrook, 8 Daniel Browne.
Replacements: 16 Neil Clarke, 17 Laurence Ovens, 18 Martin Purdy, 19 Jonny Faamatuainu, 20 Nick Walshe, 21 Shaun Berne, 22 Matt Banahan.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Sam Vesty, 14 Johne Murphy, 13 Ayoola Erinle, 12 Matt Cornwell, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Frank Murphy, 1 Dan Cole, 2 Mefin Davies (c), 3 Dave Young, 4 Richard Blaze, 5 Marco Wentzel, 6 Tom Croft, 7 Luke Abraham, 8 Jordan Crane.
Replacements: 16 Gavin Hickie, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Alex Moreno, 19 James Hamilton, 20 Ben Herring, 21 Tom Youngs, 22 Ben Youngs.