Preview: Preview: Bath vs Leicester Tigers - prediction, team news, lineups

Bath welcome Leicester Tigers to the Recreational Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the final gameweek of this year's regular Premiership Rugby season.

The Blue, Black and Whites fell to a narrow 21-19 defeat away to close rivals Bristol Bears in their previous fixture, while the Tigers suffered a damning 35-26 loss against Exeter Chiefs at Welford Road.

Match preview

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Bath would have been hoping to have a home playoff semi-final firmly in their back pocket, however that could not be further from the case.

Despite leading by 12 points at the break, Johann van Graan’s side fell to a 21-19 defeat against fierce rivals Bristol Bears on Friday night, making it three losses in their previous four Premiership matches.

Their disappointing run of form leaves the Blue, Black and Whites only two points above Saturday’s visitors Leicester, meaning they need to avoid defeat this weekend in order to be hosting the Tigers, Exeter Chiefs or Saracens in the semi-finals.

However, having won each of their previous two matches against Leicester at the Rec, Bath will be confident that they can return to winning ways and swat away their blip just in time for the playoffs.

After a run of seven wins from eight Premiership matches, Leicester’s hopes of a playoff finish were put into jeopardy on Sunday afternoon as they suffered their first defeat of the season at Welford Road.

Despite clawing back an 11-point deficit to lead heading into the final 10 minutes, Geoff Parling’s men took nothing away from the game as the Exeter Chiefs fought back once more for a monumental bonus-point victory.

Losing out on the points was bad enough for the Tigers, but surrendering them to the Chiefs made matters worse, with Rob Baxter’s men now only two points behind going into the final weekend.

However, having won both of their encounters with Bath so far this season, Leicester will be confident that they are capable of making it three in a row and securing a home semi-final for next weekend.

Bath Premiership form:

Bath form (all competitions):

Leicester Tigers Premiership form:

Leicester Tigers (all competitions):

Team News

Bath will be without Scottish fly-half Finn Russell again this weekend, with the 33-year-old continuing his recovery from a calf issue.

The Blue, Black and Whites have made just two changes from the pack that faced Bristol, with Josh Bayliss and Alfie Barbeary starring either side of Sam Underhill on the back row.

van Graan has also made a couple of changes to his backline too, with Tom de Glanville returning to the fold and Santi Carreras staring at fly-half as opposed to full-back.

The Tigers have also made a pair of changes in their scrum, with George Martin making way for Cameron Henderson and Joaquin Moro being replaced by Olly Cracknell.

Gabriel Hamer-Webb has been preferred to Olli Hassell-Collins on the wing, while James O'Connor replaces Charlie Titcombe at fly-half.

Bath starting lineup:

15 de Glanville, 14 Cokanasiga, 13 Lawrence, 12 Ojomoh, 11 Arundell, 10 Carreras, 9 Spencer; 1 Obano, 2 Tuipulotu, 3 du Toit, 4 Hill, 5 Ewels, 6 Bayliss, 7 Underhill, 8 Barbeary

Replacements:

16 Frost, 17 van Wyk, 18 Sela, 19 Molony, 20 Richards, 21 Carr-Smith, 22 Redpath, 23 Reid

Leicester Tigers starting lineup:

15 Pearson, 14 Radwan, 13 Wand, 12 Bailey, 11 Hamer-Webb, 10 O'Connor, 9 van Poortvliet; 1 Smith, 2 Blamire, 3 Heyes, 4 Henderson, 5 Chessum, 6 Liebenberg, 7 Reffell, 8 Cracknell

Replacements:

16 Clare, 17 van der Flier, 18 Hurd, 19, Martin, 20 Watson, 21 Bemand, 22 Kata, 23 Perese

We say: Bath 27-15 Leicester Tigers

With both sides experiencing a shaky run of form and fighting for position in the final gameweek of the season, Saturday's match at the Rec is bound to be an entertaining watch.

Despite sustaining a damning defeat to the Bears last weekend, we can see Bath bouncing back with a bang as they secure a home playoff semi-final and the Tigers are leapfrogged by the Chiefs, dropping to fourth place.

>Click here to read the full previews of every Premiership Rugby game this weekend