Gallagher PREM round 11 team news: Teams welcome back stars from Six Nations as season heads to exciting climax with Finn Russell set to feature

All 10 teams are in action, with the top of the table looking congested as they battle for victories; just 11 points separate Northampton Saints in first from Saracens in sixth.

Round 11 of the PREM begins on Friday with Bath, who sit second in the table and two points behind Northampton, hosting Saracens.

Bath see Scotland fly-half Finn Russell come back into the starting line-up, while Saracens make seven changes to their last outing, with Owen Farrell returning to playing duties after coaching the squad during the PREM Rugby Cup period. 

Three games are taking place on Sunday, as Gloucester travel to Harlequins, Northampton Saints take on Newcastle Red Bulls and Exeter Chiefs hosting Sale Sharks.

Highlights: Hat-trick hero Matthews keeps Gloucester-Hartpury perfect with win over Saracens

Video credit: TNT Sports

Quins welcome back Marcus Smith, Cadan Murley and Jack Kenningham from England, while Gloucester see Seb Atkinson, Arthur Clark, Tomos Williams and Freddie Thomas all return from international duty.

Table-topping Northampton have Emmanuel Iyogun back in their front row and Newcastle’s Brett Connon set to make his 150th appearance for the team.

Elsewhere, Exeter welcome back five internationals to their team and Sale make just two changes for the trip to Devon.

The round ends on Sunday with a mouthwatering affair, with the teams third and fourth in the table – Leicester and Bristol – going head-to-head at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

For Bristol, Steven Luatua returns to action and starts in the back row, while Jake Woolmore returns in the front row after recovering from the fractured jaw he sustained against Harlequins in December.

With eight rounds of fixtures to come before the four top teams are confirmed for the end of season play-offs, hold onto your hats because there’s sure to be some drama.

Ahead of all the live coverage on TNT Sports and discovery+, check out all the team line-ups below.

Bath v Saracens line-ups

Bath: 15. Tom de Glanville, 14. Henry Arundell, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Max Ojomoh, 11. Will Muir, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Ben Spencer (c), 1. Beno Obano, 2. Tom Dunn, 3. Archie Griffin, 4. Quinn Roux, 5. Charlie Ewels, 6. Josh Bayliss, 7. Miles Reid, 8. Alfie Barbeary.

Replacements: 16. Kepu Tuipulotu, 17. Francois van Wyk, 18. Thomas du Toit, 19. Ted Hill, 20. Guy Pepper, 21. Bernard van der Linde, 22. Santi Carreras, 23. Sam Underhill.

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Saracens: 15. Elliot Daly, 14. Tobias Elliott, 13. Lucio Cinti, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Rotimi Segun, 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Ivan Van Zyl (c), 1. Eroni Mawi, 2. Theo Dan, 3. Marcus Street, 4. Nick Isiekwe, 5. Hugh Tizard, 6. Theo McFarland, 7. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 8. Tom Willis.

Replacements: 16. James Hadfield, 17. Alex O’Driscoll, 18. Marco Riccioni, 19. Andy Onyeama-Christie, 20. Ben Earl, 21. Gareth Simpson, 22. Fergus Burke, 23. Max Malins.

Harlequins v Gloucester line-ups

Harlequins: 15. Nick David, 14. Rodrigo Isgro, 13. Ben Waghorn, 12. Bryn Bradley, 11. Cadan Murley, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Stu Townsend, 1. Simon Kerrod, 2. Jack Walker, 3. Harry Williams, 4. Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 5. Kieran Treadwell, 6. Jack Kenningham, 7. Seb Driscoll, 8. Alex Dombrandt (c).

Replacements: 16. Jack Musk, 17. Will Hobson, 18. Pedro Delgado, 19. Jonny Green, 20. Zach Carr, 21. Lucas Friday, 22. Jamie Benson, 23. Tyrone Green.

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Gloucester: 15. Ben Redshaw, 14. Will Joseph, 13. Max Llewellyn, 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley, 10. Charlie Atkinson, 9. Tomos Williams (c), 1. Val Rapava Ruskin, 2. Jack Innard, 3. Afo Fasogbon, 4. Arthur Clark, 5. Matias Alemanno, 6. Jack Clement, 7. Lewis Ludlow, 8. Will Trenholm.

Replacements: 16. Manaaki Boyle-Tiatia, 17. Dian Bleuler, 18. Ciaran Knight, 19. Freddie Thomas, 20. Deian Gwynne, 21. Caolan Englefield, 22. George Barton, 23. Josiah Edwards-Giraud.

Northampton v Newcastle line-ups

Northampton: 15. George Furbank, 14. James Pater, 13. Rory Hutchinson, 12. Tom Litchfield, 11. James Ramm, 10. Anthony Belleau, 9. Archie McParland, 1. Emmanuel Iyogun, 2. Robbie Smith, 3. Luke Green, 4. Ed Prowse, 5. Chunya Munga, 6. Tom Lockett, 7. Tom Pearson, 8. Callum Chick (c).

Replacements: 16. Curtis Langdon, 17. Tom West, 18. Cleopas Kundiona, 19. Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, 20. Charlie Ulcoq, 21. Tom James, 22. Toby Thame, 23. Ollie Sleightholme.

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Newcastle: 15. Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14. Oli Spencer, 13. Alex Hearle, 12. Sammy Arnold, 11. Harrison Obatoyinbo, 10. Brett Connon, 9. Simon Benitez Cruz, 1. Adam Brocklebank, 2. George McGuigan (c), 3. Richard Palframan, 4. Freddie Clarke, 5. Adam Scott, 6. Reuben Parsons, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Ollie Leatherbarrow.

Replacements: 16. Ollie Fletcher, 17. Murray McCallum, 18. Nicky Little, 19. John Hawkins, 20. Tom Gordon, 21. James Elliott, 22. Rhys Beeckmans, 23. Boeta Chamberlain.

Exeter v Sale line-ups

Exeter: 15. Olly Woodburn, 14. Paul Brown-Bampoe, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Will Rigg, 11. Campbell Ridl, 10. Harvey Skinner, 9. Stephen Varney, 1. Scott Sio, 2. Jack Yeandle, 3. Bachuki Tchumbadze, 4. Dafydd Jenkins (c), 5. Andrea Zambonin, 6. Tom Hooper, 7. Ross Vintcent, 8. Greg Fisilau.

Replacements: 16. Julian Heaven, 17. Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18. Jimmy Roots, 19. Lewis Pearson, 20. Finn Worley Brady, 21. Tom Cairns, 22. Will Haydon-Wood, 23. Dan John.

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Sale: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom O’Flaherty, 13. Marius Louw, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Arron Reed, 10. Rob du Preez, 9. Raffi Quirke; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Nathan Jibulu, 3. James Harper, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Jacques Verrmeulen, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Dan du Preez.

Replacements: 16. Ethan Caine, 17. Ralph McEachran, 18. WillGriff John, 19. Jos Gilmore, 20. Reuben Logan, 21. Gus Warr, 22. Ollie Davies, 23. Alex Wills.

Leicester v Bristol line-ups

Leicester: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13. Will Wand, 12. Orlando Bailey, 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10. Billy Searle, 9. Tom Whiteley, 1. Nicky Smith, 2. Jamie Blamire, 3. Joe Heyes, 4. Hanro Liebenberg, 5. Ollie Chessum (c), 6. Joaquin Moro, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Olly Cracknell.

Replacements: 16. Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17. Archie van der Flier, 18. Will Hurd, 19. Osian Thomas, 20. Harry Palmer, 21. Jack van Poortvliet, 22. James O’Connor, 23. Izaia Perese.

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Bristol: 15. Noah Heward, 14. Kalaveti Ravouvou, 13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12. James Williams, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. Sam Worsley, 9. Harry Randall; 1. Jake Woolmore, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. George Kloska, 4. James Dun, 5. Joe Owen, 6. Steven Luatua, 7. Fitz Harding (c), 8. Viliame Mata.

Replacements: 16. Tomas Gwilliam, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Lovejoy Chawatama, 19. George Taylor, 20. Santiago Grondona, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. Matias Moroni, 23. Aidan Boshoff.