Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers - Aviva Premiership match preview
Northampton Saints have made just two changes to their starting XV for Saturday's mouth-watering derby with Leicester.
Last Updated: 30/03/13 2:19pm
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder has recalled the versatile Tom May and England No 8 Tom Wood for the clash.
Former England international May starts in the centre ahead of Dom Waldouck, while Wood preferred to the benched GJ van Velze.
There is a further change to the replacement with Luther Burrell providing cover to the back division.
Leicester boss Richard Cockerill has opted to name an unchanged line-up for the short to Franklin's Gardens.
The Tigers beat Exeter last time out to move up to second as the race for the play-off places hots up.
However Cockerill will be aware of the fact that the Saints, who are clinging on to the final spot in the top four, will be gunning for revenge after their 16-12 defeat earlier in the season.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 James Wilson, 13 George Pisi, 12 Tom May, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Tom Wood, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:16 Ross McMillan, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 GJ van Velze, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Luther Burrell.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Toby Flood (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Logovi'i Mulipola, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Thomas Waldrom, 20 Graham Kitchener, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 George Ford, 23 Matt Smith.
What they said...
Saints second row Christian Day
"Any time you play a team in the top six you know you're playing international standard players in practically every position and Leicester are no different to that.
"We've got a close rivalry and playing Leicester is a massive test, no matter where you're from. They've been at the pinnacle of European rugby for a long time and we know they're coming here to test us once again.
"We need to up our game and look to get the win we want."
Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill
"Fixtures between Leicester and Northampton are always very competitive and we're both chasing semi-final spots.
"We had a very good win at Exeter last week, the international boys came back in and got straight into it, and we'll be up for the battle.
"We have a lot of respect for Saints and their supporters, we obviously know each other very well and a healthy rivalry is good for both us."
Watch Northampton v Leicester live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 2.30pm