Preview: Leicester Tigers vs. Exeter Chiefs – prediction, team news, lineups

The final match at Mattioli Woods Welford Road of the 2023-24 Gallagher Premiership season will take place on Saturday afternoon when Leicester Tigers will take over Exeter Chiefs.

The Tigers’ play-off ambitions ended last week when they were beaten by Sale Sharks, while the Chiefs kept their top four hopes alive with a crucial win over Harlequins.

Match preview

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The 2023-24 season will be a poor one for Leicester Tigers, who lost the Premiership Cup final, were knocked out of the European Champions Cup in the second round and are eighth in the Premiership table with a game to play. Dan McKellarhis first season in charge.

On one of the hottest evenings of the year, Leicester’s hopes of making the Premiership play-offs were dashed as they suffered a 31-22 defeat at the hands of Sale Sharks last week. This result confirmed Leicester’s eighth place finish for the season, with Gloucester securing ninth place and Newcastle finishing tenth.

Furthermore, their qualification for next season’s Champions Cup is out of their hands and will be determined by the outcome of the Challenge Cup final. Should Gloucester secure victory against the Sharks in the final, they will claim the spot despite the Tigers finishing eighth in the competition.

Leicester have now lost six of their last seven games in all competitions since action resumed in mid-March after the season break to host the Six Nations. Before that, they had won nine of 12 games to give them a shot at a treble.

Under McKellar’s guidance, the team has shown flashes of brilliance interspersed with moments of inconsistency throughout the season. While it’s challenging to predict which Tigers side will field on Saturday, the hosts will no doubt be looking to wrap up the competition with a win.

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Meanwhile, Exeter chiefs are still very much alive in the play-off fight and will head into this weekend’s game with a chance to break into the top four after working hard to match Harlequins’ pace in the first half last week , before you leave them behind. the second period of the Week 17 showdown.

A few weeks ago, the chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter openly admitted that he did not anticipate his youth team contending for the playoffs this season. However, they have since gained significant momentum and now face the task of beating Leicester while hoping for favorable results elsewhere to break into the top four equation.

Against Quins, Exeter’s back row showed remarkable strength, particularly with outstanding performances from Ethan Roots and Greg Fisilau. In addition, the Chiefs, who dominated the second half by a score of 37-5, benefited from the electrifying performance of Immanuel Feyi-Wabosowho contributed two tries and numerous impact line breaks.

With this result, the Chiefs can reach 55 points with a bonus-point win over the Tigers, and they, along with Bristol Bears and Harlequins, are banking on fourth-placed Sale Sharks to lose at Saracens.

All the while, fighting to be crowned the best points scorer in Gallagher Premiership Rugby in the 2023-24 season is set to go down to the wire and Henry Slade is in pole position with 26 points at the weekend. That took him to 145 points, including five tries, the most of any player in the top five of the rankings.

Leicester Tigers Gallagher Premiership form:

Exeter Chiefs Gallagher Premiership form:

Team news

World Cup Winner Jasper Wiese will play his last game for Leicester Tigers this weekend. The 28-year-old rower has made 78 appearances in his four seasons at the club and is believed to be on track to play in Japan next season.

Hanro Liebenberg he is expected to continue leading the match-day squad, with captaincy Julian Montoya out injured. Charlie Clare he should start in place of the Argentine in the front row next to him Francois van Wyk and Dan Cole.

Earlier this week, Exeter chiefs confirmed that player Rory O’Loughlin was forced to retire due to injury. The Irishman suffered a serious shoulder injury at the start of the season and despite rehabilitation and attempts to return to action, he was advised to quit.

In addition, Scotland prop Fine Richardson it will follow that Alec Hepburn and Patrick Schickerling on leaving Exeter this summer for URC, as the club confirmed earlier this week.

Leicester Tigers predicted starting line-up: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jamie Shillcock, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg (c), 5 Harry Wells, 4 George Martin, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Francois van Wyk

Substitutes: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Finn Carnduff, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Solomone Kata

Exeter Chiefs predicted starting line-up: 15 Dan John, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 4 Jack Dunne, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Scott Sio

Substitutes: 16 Max Norey, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Niall Armstrong, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zack Wimbush

We say: Leicester Tigers 17-26 Exeter Chiefs

Leicester Tigers cannot make the playoffs from the position they are in and will see this match as a mere formality. Although Exeter’s away form is not the best this season, we feel they will make one last push to try and break into the top four.

There is no information about data analysis

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