Bristol Bears vs Northampton Saints
26th November 1945hrs
Rugby – England – Premiership
Pick Bears +4 handicap
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: Even money odds taken 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021
Bristol Bears will look to make the most of home advantage on Friday night as they strive to build some momentum.
It’s been just the three wins for the Bears in the Premiership having beaten Worcester in their last fixture.
Northampton are not going to be any kind of pushover on their visit to Ashton Gate, however, but the Saints will be looking to avoid their third straight league defeat.
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Bristol Bears Preview – Bears face a challenge
It hasn’t been the season from Bristol Bears that they would have wanted, with just three wins recorded.
But they have rallied themselves as of late, winning their last two Premiership Rugby fixtures.
They got the better of London Irish and Worcester Warriors in those fixtures.
In the match outright for Premiership Rugby betting on Friday, the win for the Bears is at 2/5* (odds recorded 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021).
So the bookies have them as big favourites at Ashton Gate.
They will be looking for further home cheer too, having won their last two on home turf.
It was back in March that they last won three in a row at Ashton Gate.
Another big positive coming in for Bristol Bears is their impressive recent form against the Saints.
Bristol have won their last five on the spin against Northampton since a home loss to them in September 2018.
There is probably going to be narrow margins in play here, at least that is what the trends suggest.
All but one of the last seven meetings between the Bears and Saints have finished with a margin of seven points or less.
So we have to keep things reasonable and a Bears -4.5 handicap is at a quote of evens* (odds recorded 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021).
Bristol only conceded five points in their last home game.
The last time that they played back to back games there conceding 10 or fewer points, was in February 2001.
That doesn’t look like a realistic play, but this is a good time for Bristol to be meeting the Saints.
Northampton Saints Preview – Saints struggling for form
In all competitions, Northampton Saints have lost their last four matches, the last two in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
In the Premiership, they have suffered back to back losses against Leicester and Sale.
So they have gone off the boil a bit after making some really positive early strides in the campaign.
Northampton are currently on a W4 L3 record.
They are the underdogs in the Premiership Rugby betting match outright to the tune of 21/10* (odds recorded 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021).
There are not too many positives to be taken away from the road record of the Saints.
Northampton are W1 L2 on their league travels this season having opened that sequence with a superb win at Sandy Park against Exeter.
Looking back at their bigger form, that’s four losses for the Saints in their last five Premiership away games.
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Northampton Saints have failed to put more than 13 points on the board in three of their last five league visits to Bristol.
The only win that they have now taken in the last four rounds of Premiership Rugby was their thumping home win over Worcester Warriors.
But the Saints will be boosted by having eight international players returning including Lewis Ludlam, Courtney Lawes and Dan Biggar.
Again the trend is going to be to approach a sensible handicap line. 11 of Northampton’s last 14 road matches in the competition have been settled by a margin of 9 points or less.
The Northampton +3 handicap is in at a quote of 10/11* (odds recorded 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021)
Bristol Bears vs Northampton Saints Betting Advice
Northampton’s little slump in form means that we have to swing this towards the Bristol Bears getting the win.
They have held a little dominance over the Saints in the last couple of seasons anyway.
The Bears did start to put things together before the recent break, so it’s a Bristol +4.5 handicap at Even Money that is on the cards* (odds recorded 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021).
Key Facts – Bristol Bears vs Northampton Saints Betting Tip
- Bristol Bears have won their last two Premiership Rugby fixtures
- Bristol Bears are on a five match winning streak against the Saints
- Northampton Saints have lost three of their last four league fixtures
The recent history between the two suggests that this is going to be a good competitive and fairly close fixture.
Northampton have let things slip a little bit but can still boast a star-studded line-up.
But pulling towards the Bears 1-10 winning margin at 11/5 just takes preference* (odds recorded 17:16 GMT on November 24th, 2021).
The best betting odds for Bristol Bears vs Northampton Saints
Bristol Bears to win: 2/5 at Bet365
Draw: 22/1 at Bet365
Northampton Saints to win: 21/10 at Bet365
