England lock Martin in line for Tigers return

After two weeks of European action, the Prem returns this weekend in another test for teams who have been fighting on two fronts this season.

Bath, Northampton, Sale and Exeter have all played the past two weekends while the league has been on pause, with Bath and Exeter making it through to the semi-finals of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup set to take place in May.

Bristol, Harlequins, Leicester and Newcastle also all had a game but exited Europe in the round of 16 stage two weeks ago, while Gloucester are the only team who have not played at all since their last Prem outing on 28 March.

You can listen to coverage of all of the matches on BBC DAB and FM local radio, via BBC Sounds or the BBC Sport website and app.

Lock Joe Batley has returned from a thumb injury earlier than expected to start for Bristol in their must-win game against Gloucester on Friday.

The Bears, who are seven points behind Exeter in fifth, also have centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg in the starting XV after scans ruled out a suspected cheek fracture which forced him off during the defeat by Toulouse two weeks ago.

Rich Lane makes his first appearance since February at full-back in place of Louis Rees-Zammit, who misses out with a knee sprain that is expected to keep him out for a number of weeks.

Gloucester have made five changes from the team that lost to Leicester in their last outing.

Prop Dian Bleuler and lock Danny Eite make their Prem starts for the Cherry and Whites, the latter having agreed a new deal with the club this week.

Seb Blake comes in at hooker, while in the backs George Barton starts at full-back with Josiah Edwards-Giraud on the wing as Ben Redshaw drops to the bench.

Bristol: Lane; Ravouvou, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ibitoye; Jordan, Marmion; Genge, Oghre, Kloska; Dun, Batley, Owen, Harding (c), Grondona.

Replacements: Thacker, Woolmore, Lahiff, Barker, Ivanishvili, Randall, Moroni, Heward.

Gloucester: Barton; Edwards-Giraud, Llewellyn, S. Atkinson (c), Thorley, C. Atkinson, Englefield; Bleuler, Blake, Fasogbon; Eite, Clark, Gwynne, Ludlow, Clement.

Replacements: Innard, Rapava Ruskin, Knight, Alemanno, Trenholm, Austin, Joseph, Loader.

Fit-again England international George Martin is set to make his first appearance for 14 months after being named on the bench for Leicester Tigers' Prem game against Newcastle Red Bulls.

A combination of knee and shoulder injuries have kept the Saracens-bound lock out since February 2025 when he last played for England in the Six Nations.

Martin's return is among nine changes made for the visit of the league's bottom side, with Ollie Chessum, Nicky Smith and Joe Heyes all back.

Meanwhile, full-back Josh Hodge is set to start for Newcastle after he completed his earlier-than-expected return to the club earlier in April.

Scottish fly-half Ben Healy is also included in the XV after coming off the bench in his two appearances for Newcastle since joining them from Edinburgh.

Leicester Tigers: Steward; Radwan, Wand, Bailey, Hamer-Webb; Searle, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Blamire, Heyes; Henderson, Chessum, Liebenberg, Watson, Moro.

Replacements: Clare, Haffar, Hurd, Martin, Cracknell, Whiteley, Perese, Hassell-Collins.

Newcastle Red Bulls: Hodge; Wade, Hearle, Beeckmans, Obatoyinbo; Healy, Elliott; Rewcastle, Fletcher, Palframan, Hodgson, Scott, Gordon, Christie, Leatherbarrow.

Replacements: Adejimi, Brocklebank, McCallum, Clarke, Parsons, Benitez Cruz, Connon, Lee-Warner.

Exeter name an unchanged starting line-up from the side that won at Benetton in their thrilling European Challenge Cup quarter-final last week.

Former England forward Ethan Roots returns from a calf injury to claim a place on the replacements bench.

On paper the game of the weekend sees the league leaders travel to an in-form Exeter side who are desperate to return to the play-offs for the first time since 2021.

Saints - who drew 33-33 with Exeter when the sides faced each other on the opening weekend of the season - make eight changes from the XV that lost at Bath in the Champions Cup.

England players Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman drop to the bench while Rory Hutchinson is rested.

Alex Mitchell, Fraser Dingwall and George Hendy return to Northampton's backs as winger Freeman, centre Hutchinson and Archie McParland make way.

There are two changes in the front row as loosehead Emmanuel Iyogun and hooker Craig Wright come in while lock Tom Lockett starts, as do flanker Sam Graham and number eight Callum Chick, who replaces Pollock.

Exeter: Woodburn; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Rigg, Ridl; Skinner, Varney; Sio, Yeandle, Roots, Jenkins (capt), Zambonin, Hooper, Vintcent, Fisilau.

Replacements: Dweba, Burger, Tchumbadze, Tuima, Roots, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, Brown-Bampoe

Northampton: Furbank (capt); Hendy, Litchfieldm, Dingwall, Sleightholme; F Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Wright, Kundiona, Prowse, Lockett, Kemeny, Graham, Chick

Replacements: R Smith, West, Millar Mills, Van Der Mescht, Pollock, McParland, Pater, Freeman

Bath have made seven changes for the visit of Harlequins, with academy prop Scott Kirk making his third Prem start in place of Beno Obano.

Obano was among three players to go off in the Champions Cup win against Northampton and is suffering from a stiff back according to head of rugby Johann van Graan.

Lock Quinn Roux also misses out with a dead leg and flanker Sam Underhill due to head injury assessment protocol, with Ewan Richards and Ted Hill starting among the forwards.

Harlequins have similarly made seven changes as they tackle an injury crisis that sees 27 players unavailable but look for their first back-to-back Prem wins this season after beating Bristol last month.

With eight props injured, Will Hobson, George Turner and Joe Jones make up an all-new front-row, while Wales fly-half Jarrod Evans returns to start alongside 19-year-old Lucas Friday in the half-backs.

Bath: Carreras; Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Ojomoh, Arundell; Russell, Spencer ©; Kirk, Dunn, Sela; Richards, Ewels, Hill, Pepper, Barbeary.

Replacements: Frost, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Molony, Bayliss, Carr Smith, Hennessey, Reid.

Harlequins: Smith; David, Northmore, Bradley, Murley; J. Evans, Friday; Hobson, Turner, Jones; Cunningham-South, Treadwell, Petti Pagadizabal, Kenningham, Dombrandt (c)

Replacements: Walker, Clarke, Streeter, Williams, Carr, W. Evans, Townsend, Kerr.

Full-back Joe Carpenter is unavailable due to a groin injury picked up in the loss to Leinster last week and so Sale boss Alex Sanderson has shuffled his back line and brought in Alex Wills on the left wing.

Back row Jos Gilmore, 20, is also set to make his first Prem start as Sale look for their first league win in four games.

Saracens have a few injury issues of their own, with England full-back Elliot Daly and back row Andy Onyeama-Christie both out for the rest of the season.

Max Malins starts at 15, Rotimi Segun returns on the wing and centre Ollie Hartley gets his first league start among four changes for Mark McCall's side.

Ben Earl also returns to the back row with Saracens 12 points off the top four and knowing a win is a must.

Sale: Roebuck; O'Flaherty, R. Du Preez, Ma'asi-White, Wills; Ford, Warr; Opoku-Fordjour, Caine, Harper; Van Rhyn (c), Bamber, Vermeulen, Gilmore, Dugdale.

Replacements: Longstaff, McEachran, Raymont, Hodkinson, Logan, Hanson, Louw, Woodman.

Saracens: Malins; Caluori, Tompkins, Hartley, Segun; Burke, Bracken; Carre, George, Street; Itoje (c), Tizard, McFarland, Earl, Willis.

Replacements: Dan, Mawi, Riccioni, Wilson, Michelow, Van Zyl, Farrell, Hall.

Compiled by Andrew Aloia, Sophie Hurcom and Brent Pilnick, BBC Sport England.