2020-21 Premiership Rugby – Gloucester vs Sale Sharks Preview & Prediction

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THE FACTS

When is Gloucester vs Sale Sharks taking place? Saturday 2nd January, 2021 – 16:30 (UK)

Where is Gloucester vs Sale Sharks taking place? Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester

Where can I get tickets for Gloucester vs Sale Sharks? Check official club websites for information about purchasing tickets

What television channel is Gloucester vs Sale Sharks on? BT Sport have the rights to televise Gallagher Premiership matches so it is worth checking their schedule

Where can I stream Gloucester vs Sale Sharks? If televised on BT Sport, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via the BT Sport website & app

THE TEAM NEWS

Gloucester: 15 Kyle Moyle, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Jonny May, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Alex Craig, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 James Hanson, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin

Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Seb Nagle-Taylor, 21 Toby Venner, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Ollie Thorley

Sale Sharks: 15 Sam James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 JP du Preez, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rodd

Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Valerey Morozov, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Byron McGuigan

THE PREDICTION

Sale Sharks lost a close 23-26 match to top 4 contemporaries Wasps on Sunday and they look to be in some bother in recent weeks after losing both their Champions Cup ties to Toulon and Edinburgh. More worrying still is back-to-back defeats at home for Sale but they should be equally troubled on the road here as they face a Gloucester side in high spirits despite a loss last time out to reigning champions Exeter. Gloucester beat the Pro14’s unbeaten Ulster before Christmas and a 28-20 loss away to Exeter Chiefs on Boxing Day is no embarrassment at all. The home side have a real shot at the win here and could be backed to come out on top of a match that goes over 40 points.