Bath v Saracens: Teams

Bath head coach Steve Meehan believes his side should not 'set out their stalls' when chasing victory against Saracens on Saturday.

With the conclusion of the Guinness Premiership rapidly approaching Bath must beat the Londoners to guarantee a semi-final spot.

"We will of course be chasing the win," Meehan admitted. "It is worth going for the home draw, but sometimes sides make that error of setting out their stall and saying they are going for a four-try bonus.

"Because they are so anxious to do that, they end up blowing opportunities."

Bath will be coming off the back of an away win against Newcastle Falcons last weekend and Meehan is convinced that the determination that saw them fight back from a 14-0 half-time deficit at will stand them in good stead on Saturday.

"Some people have labelled us as a side who fade in the second half," he said.

"Now we have shown a few times our ability to come home in the second 40 minutes and do things well.

Delighted

"I am delighted for the players that they showed so much resolve and spirit that they managed to pull back that deficit. It was terrific."

Bath will be without Butch James, who has torn his cruciate ligament and top tryscorer Joe Maddock is also injured.

"Butch started 20 Guinness Premiership matches for us this year and seven Heineken Cup matches. Meehan added.

"He has played more minutes than anyone else for Bath and has done a bloody good job."

Meanwhile, Steve Borthwick returns to the Saracens starting line-up to try and deny his fdormer club the semi-final spot.

Borthwick is one of eight changes Head Coach Richard Graham's line-up as the team prepares for its final league clash of the campaign.

Adam Powell, Andy Farrell, Noah Cato, Alex Walker, Cencus Johnston and Ben Skirving all start while Andy Saull makes a return after two months out with a fractured hand.

"Bath are a very good side and very well balanced," said Graham.

"We played them only a few weeks ago and got a very good win and we're looking for the same result on Saturday.

"On a sunny day, Bath is one of the most beautiful places in the world to watch rugby and both teams have plenty to play for so it should be a cracking game.

"If you look at the top of the table as it stands, Bath do need a win and we expect them to come out strongly.

"That's something they have been doing all season and our task is to nullify that.

"We've got a few guys coming back this weekend such as Steve Borthwick and Cencus Johnston and it's also good to see Andy Saull back from injury.

"But we've also got a few who have played a lot of rugby in recent months and we have to manage them."

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Andrew Higgins, 13 Tom Cheeseman, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Ryan Davis, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Stuart Hooper, 7 Michael Lipman (c), 6 Andy Beattie, 5 Peter Short, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Flatman,

Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Paulica Ion, 18 Jonny Faamatuainu, 19 James Scaysbrook, 20 Scott Bemand, 21 Shaun Berne, 22 Michael Stephenson.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Noah Cato, 10 Glen Jackson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Chris Jack, 5 Hugh Vyvyan, 4 Steve Borthwick (c), 3 Cencus Johnston, 2 Alex Walker, 1 Tom Mercey.

Replacements: 16 Matt Cairns, 17 Cobus Visagie, 18 Tom Ryder, 19 Don Barrell, 20 Justin Marshall, 21 Gordon Ross, 22 Richard Haughton.