Saracens should prevail in close contest
Saracens will host Leinster in their second game in the Heineken Cup on Saturday 16 October at Wembley.
Both sides will be confident that they can take the four points and the game should be a close contest.
Saracens have been in good form in the Premiership and are currently in third place.
Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter will be pleased with his team’s domestic form, with them having taken 16 points from five games.
They have also beaten Leicester 26-20 in their last league game and securing new deals with Brad Barritt, Alex Goode and Andy Saull has created a positive atmosphere about the club.
Saracens lost 25-10 to Clermont Auvergne in their opening Heineken Cup game and a number of errors crept in to their game.
However, Clermont are one of the favourites to win the Heineken Cup and few teams will visit France and come away with a victory.
David Strettle scored Saracens only try of the game and he will look to continue with his good form against Leinster.
Leinster have also got reasons to be optimistic. They beat a strong Racing Metro side 38-22 in their opening game of the Heineken Cup at the RDS.
Rob Kearney, Gordon D’Arcy and Jamie Heaslip all scored tries for the Leinster side in what was a clinical performance.
Leinster have not started the Magners League well, but in recent weeks it appears that new coach Joe Schmidt has resolved a number of problems.
Leinster beat rival’s Munster 13-9 in their Magners League clash and the team seems to have taken confidence from the win.
However, Leinster have a number of injury problems. Brian O’Driscoll limped off with a hamstring injury in the win against Racing Metro.
Fergus McFadden is likely to take O’Driscoll’s outside centre position if the Irish international is not match fit.
The return of Captain Leo Cullen will be a huge boost for Leinster who will be up against an experienced line out jumper in Steve Borthwick.
This will be a crucial area in the game and Cullen admitted that he will have to play well to get the better of the English international.
“Yeah, Borthwick’s a clever guy. He runs a good lineout. He is very experienced and has been around a long time. He has his fair share of critics as well, but he has survived the test of time,” said Cullen.
Saracens will expect a big performance from their pack and they are expected to stick with a similar team to the one that faced Clermont.
The English side will look to attack Leinster who have been poor in the scrum and the tight five this season.
However, the English side will be wary of Leinster’s world class back line and they will try to deny the likes of Kearney, D’Arcy and Luke Fitzgerald space and possession.
Saracens should win the forward battle and Leinster will rely on their backs to produce some moments of magic.
The English side will expect a home win if Leinster’s inspirational O’Driscoll is absent.
A close game and a losing bonus point for the Irish province would be the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Saracens 26-21 Leinster
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