Harlequins vs Bath
5th September 1400hrs
Rugby – England – Premiership
Pick Harlequins to win at 8/11
Bookmaker Betfred
Odds: 8/11 odds taken 23:19 GMT Friday 4th September
Harlequins are ten points out of the top four in the Premiership with just the five games left to play, so that looks beyond them at this point.
Bath, however, are right on the doorstop, ending the last round of action in fifth-place, just two points out of the top-four.
But Bath need to come up with a response to having suffered quite a big setback last weekend in a clash with other top-four hopefuls Wasps.
Table of Contents
Harlequins Preview – Can the Quins dent Bath’s top-four hopes?
Harlequins posted an excellent 30-17 home win over Northampton last weekend, which saw them snap out of a two-match losing streak.
Quins have won their two matches at The Stoop since the season started up again, collecting a victory over current second-placed team Sale in the first of those.
Each of the last seven fixtures that Harlequins have been involved in have ended in a home win, so that’s a big streak.
Harlequins are the 8/11 odds-on favourites for the match win on Saturday* (odds taken 23:19 GMT Friday 4th September).
The last time that Harlequins lost a league fixture at The Stoop was back in February when London Irish sprung a surprise on them.
The Quins are on a W7 D1 L9 record for this campaign, sitting seven points adrift of 5th placed Bath.
When Harlequins went to Bath earlier this season they ended up on the losing side of a 19-12 scoreline.
That is a W2 L3 record that Quins have taken in their last five against Bath.
While Quins have produced far more tries this season than what Bath have done, the Quins do have a worse defensive record across the course of the season.
Northampton are the only team to have conceded more tries among the current top-eight teams than Quins.
The bookmakers are accepting a really tight clash here as a Quins -1 is at 10/11 odds* (odds taken 23:19 GMT Friday 4th September).
Bath Preview – Can Bath get back to winning ways?
Bath returned to action in red hot form, scoring three straight wins. But that winning streak was broken last weekend.
They had a tough game on their hands at home against the free-scoring Wasps and Bath lost by a four-point margin.
Bath dropped out of the top with Wasps replacing them, so that was how big of a clash that
fixture was.
But it has been back to back road wins for Bath since the season resumed, those successes happening at Leicester and Northampton.
In fact, their only loss in their last four away games in the Premiership was when they visited league leaders Exeter in round 13.
That last time that Bath collected back to back season wins over Harlequins was in the 2014/15 campaign.
The visitors are the 6/5 underdogs for the win on the day at The Stoop* (odds taken 23:19 GMT Friday 4th September).
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Bath are the lowest-scoring team currently in the top eight of the Premiership, and they only have a -2 points difference this season.
So that’s another reason to expect this to be tight.
It has been a tally of just 39 tries scored by Bath this season, which is the lowest of any team currently not in the bottom four of the table.
But that +2 handicap line on them for 10/11 odds just isn’t enough to not warrant backing them instead in the match outright* (odds taken 23:19 GMT Friday 4th September).
This is another tough game for them, especially within such a tight battle for a top-four place.
Harlequins vs Bath Betting Advice
We would have to agree with the bookies that this is going to be a tight contest. But a very good, intriguing one at that.
Quins are not the easiest of teams to knock over at home, but that Bath have produced some very good away form.
Both have comfortably beaten Northampton as well in the last two rounds of league action, so this is very even.
Key Facts – Harlequins vs Bath Betting Tip
- Harlequins haven’t lost at home since February
- Harlequins are W3 L2 in their last five against Bath
- Bath have lost just one of their last four away games
So in tight situations like this, we just have to look towards the home side coming up with just enough to get the job done.
With that in mind, we can then seek out a little bit of value in the winning margin market where we are going to dial back things.
A Quins 1-7 winning margin fits the bill nicely at 14/5* (odds taken 23:19 GMT Friday 4th September).
The best betting odds for Harlequins vs Bath
Harlequins to win: 8/11 at Bet365
Draw: 20/1 at Bet365
Bath to win: 6/5 at Bet365
