Bristol vs Harlequins
27th March 1500hrs
Rugby – England – Premiership
Pick Bristol -5 handicap
Bookmaker Betfair
Odds: Even money odds taken 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021
Bristol continued their very strong season last weekend with a victory away at Northampton.
That was the fourth win on the spin for the current league leaders.
They have the home soil advantage for the weekend as well as they look to extend their winning streak.
The form of Harlequins has been patchy and they have been struggling for positives away from home. But they are a scoring threat.
Table of Contents
Bristol Preview – Bears to make it five in a row?
The Bristol Bears are just tearing along the moment in the Premierships and hold the top spot by six points over Exeter.
Last weekend the Bears had a trip to Northampton and they came away with a seven-point margin victory.
That is a four-match winning streak that they are currently on in Premiership rugby. Bristol are undefeated in six.
The last time that they suffered a league defeat was at home against Sale on February 5th.
Bristol go into Saturday’s fixture as the somewhat understandable, red hot favourites in Premiership Rugby betting.
Bristol Bears to Win Rugby Betting Odds: Bristol 1/2
* (odds recorded 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021)
So far on home soil in this season’s campaign, Bristol are W6 L1, the loss there, the aforementioned one against Sale Sharks.
The interesting thing from all of that is Bristol’s margins of victory from those home games.
Each of the six home wins for the Bears have been by a margin of at least 12 points.
All but one has been by a margin of at least 14 points.
Saturday’s opponents Harlequins are the only team to have scored more points than Bristol this season.
Earlier this season the Bears earned a win at The Stoop against Quins by eight points.
Even though Quins have the fire-power, the Bears look a good proposition to at least cover a small margin.
Bristol -5 handicap rugby betting odds: Even money
* (odds recorded 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021)
Let’s get into a little head to head between Bristol and Harlequins.
It has been back to back wins in the league for Bristol Bears against the Londoners.
Only once before in their Premiership history have the Bears managed to win three in a row against Quins.
Bristol have suffered one home defeat at Aston Gate specifically against Harlequins, which was back in 2017.
The last two home wins that the Bears have taken against Harlequins in the league, have been by a margin of at least seven points.
We think that they collect the win, even though Quins could pose a threat or two.
The Bears are averaging 27 points per home game this season.
Harlequins Preview – Can Quins raid Ashton Gate?
There is a big shot at a top four finish for Harlequins who are currently in third place in the table.
They are W8 DO L5 after the adjustments for cancelled fixtures this season, so they are in pretty good shape.
It would take a bit of a collapse not to see them get to the Premiership semi finals from here on out.
The big asset for Harlequins this season has been their scoring threat.
They are the top scoring team in the league and from their thirteen completed matches, Harlequins are average over 30 points per league fixture.
So that should give anyone a run for their money.
Now the flip side of that they have the worst defensive record out of the current top five.
Harlequins to win rugby betting odds: 17/10
* (odds recorded 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021)
The visitors are underdogs and we can understand that. They have lost their last two away games in the league.
Those were fixtures dropped at Newcastle and then Exeter, but neither were by a margin of more than three points.
The last time that Harlequins lost three straight league away games was back in August last year.
There has been a trend with their recent league fixtures.
Each of the last six Premiership rugby matches that Harlequins have been involved in have been won by the home side on the day.
With their lack of success at Ashton Gate, we think that the underdog odds on them in the match outright are just about right.
But can they stay close?
Harlequins +5 handicap rugby betting odds: 10/11
* (odds recorded 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021)
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Away from home in the premiership this season, Harlequins have done very well. It has been a W4 L2 record from them.
Those two defeats, as already mentioned, were against Exeter and Newcastle recently.
Each of the four wins that they have taken on their travels have been by at least a 10 point margin.
But three of those four wins were against the current bottom three.
So perhaps their away form for the campaign has been slightly inflated so far and this certainly looks a much tougher proposition.
Harlequins have the worst defensive record of the current top six in the league.
Is that likely to be their downfall?
Bristol vs Harlequins Betting Advice
We know that Harlequins can give as good as they get as an attacking unit. But they have conceded 60 points more than the Bears have done this season.
So if even they go toe to toe, you would still have to back Bristol to come out on top.
So it is the Bristol Bears -5 handicap at evens that were are first going to propose in Premiership rugby betting* (odds recorded 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021).
Key Facts – Bristol vs Harlequins Betting Tip
- Harlequins’ last six league matches have been won by the home team on the day
- Harlequins have lost their last two away games in the top flight
- Bristol are on a four-match winning streak in Premiership rugby
Harlequins posted 59 points last week in a romp at home against Gloucester. They have the scoring threat.
But they haven’t managed more than 22 points in either of their last two away games in the top flight.
So we think their challenge fails. Bristol Bears 1-12 winning margin fits nicely at 6/4* (odds recorded 19:23 GMT, March 25th, 2021).
The best betting odds for Bristol vs Harlequins
Bristol to win: 1/2 at Bet365
Draw: 3/1 at Bet365
Harlequins to win: 17/10 at Bet365
