Wasps v Northampton: Teams

Wasps director of rugby Tony Hanks believes Sunday's clash with Northampton is "massive" in terms of his side's Premiership ambitions.

Hanks has made five changes to his line-up following the victory over Glasgow, with Mark van Gisbergen, Dominic Waldouck, Tim Payne, Joe Worsley and captain Tom Rees all returning.

And Hanks is expecting a difficult encounter at Adams Park as he looks for his side to kick-start their stuttering league campaign.

"Wasps Northampton clashes are always highly competitive and hard fought and the encounters were extremely close last season," said Hanks.

"This game is massive for us in terms of driving our place in the league and our focus is securing the result we need."

Northampton boss Jim Mallinder knows his side will have to build on their victory over Edinburgh if they are to topple Wasps.

The Saints sit top of their Heineken Cup pool after back-to-back wins - but Mallinder knows it will not be easy for his side on Sunday.

Tough

"We had a good attitude going into the Edinburgh match and we need the same again on Sunday," he said.

"We showed then that we can adapt during a game and impose ourselves to get a positive result. We had not reached the standards we expect of ourselves in the few games before the trip to Murrayfield. But we played well in Scotland, and now we have to keep playing well.

"Wasps are a tough proposition at Adams Park. They have a lot of experience and plenty of talent, and they have had some good results in Wycombe this season. They also came very close to beating Toulouse in France, so we know they are in good form too.

"The Premiership is proving to be a tight and competitive league this season and we know that we have to keep picking up points. So we will have to play with control and impose our game plan if we are to come home with a positive result."

Mallinder has made one change to his starting XV with Ben Foden replacing Greg Tonks at full-back while on the bench Tom Mercey comes in for Euan Murray.

Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Tom Rees (capt), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Dan Ward-Smith, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Zak Taulafo, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Ben Broster, 19 James Cannon, 20 Serge Betsen, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Steve Kefu, 23 Ben Jacobs.

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.