Bath v Wasps: Teams

Bath could have their largest ever crowd in attendance as Wasps visit the Recreation Ground on Saturday.

Wasps emerged with a narrow victory in their recent LV= Cup meeting at Adams Park, and Bath hope to avenge that defeat with a win in the Aviva Premiership rematch.

Head coach Steve Meehan has replaced Matt Carraro with Jack Cuthbert at outside centre and Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe comes in for Danny Grewcock in the second row.

Guy Mercer starts at openside with Simon Taylor switching to number eight as Bath look to make it four wins out of five Premiership meetings against the Londoners.

"There are always areas you can improve on, but I think there are definitely a lot of positives to come out of the game," Meehan said. "On a number of occasions we were getting in to positions where we were one pass away from getting a score, we just needed to make that final move.

Competitive

"The side we have prepared for is a very competitive one, as it is every time you prepare to play Wasps. They are a very physical side, who will be very competitive in all areas on the park.

"Dan Ward-Smith proved himself to be a very effective player when we played against them in the LV= a couple of weeks ago, and Joe Simpson and Dave Walder are both very creative playmakers, who have forged a very strong partnership. Steve Kefu is a very good ball carrier, and he's got some gas as well, so he could potentially be a real handful in the centre."

Meanwhile, off the back of Wasps' 33-25 win over London Irish, Tony Hanks has made only two changes to the starting line up as Serge Betsen and Marty Veale are named in place of Tom Rees, who features amongst the replacements, and Simon Shaw, who is named in the England line up to face South Africa, respectively.

With Rees named on the bench the captaincy is handed to last weekend's Man of the Match Ben Jacobs. Highly regarded amongst his team mates, the Australian centre has been one of the club's most consistent performers since his arrival at the start of 2009/10, making 33 appearances in his debut season - more than any other player in the squad.

On the bench Wasps will also look to utilise the services of Jason Hobson, Will Matthews and Elliot Daly. Daly is the latest of Wasps' young talents to commit their long term future to the club, signing a three year deal to join the full time Academy at the start of the 2011/12 season.

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Nick Scott, 13 Jack Cuthbert, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Sam Vesty, 9 Michael Claassens (C), 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 4 Stuart Hooper, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements:16 Pieter Dixon, 17 David Barnes, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Peter Short, 20 Josh Ovens, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Paul Roberts, 23 Jacques Boussuge.

Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Ben Jacobs (C), 12 Steve Kefu, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Dan Ward-Smith, 7 Serge Betsen, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 James Cannon, 4 Marty Veale, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Shaun Ruwers, 18 Jason Hobson, 19 Will Matthews, 20 Tom Rees, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Seb Jewell, 23 Elliot Daly.