Saints boss Jim Mallinder has his eye on Premiership survival © Getty Images

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Matches: Bristol Bears 14 - 13 Northampton Saints

Teams: Bristol Bears | England | Northampton Saints

Bristol Head Coach Richard Hill has opted for as much continuity as possible for the Guinness Premiership clash with Northampton Saints on Sunday, making just three changes to his starting line up.

The one change in the back line sees Ed Barnes return to the back line after recovering from a hamstring injury where he takes over at inside centre from Luke Eves.

Up front, Robert Sidoli replaces injured compatriot Nathan Budgett in the second-row and Alfie To'oala comes in for Matt Salter on the blind side flank.

Of note on the bench is the inclusion of England international scrum half Shaun Perry for the first time this season.

After five weeks playing in the EDF Energy and European Challenge Cups, Hill acknowledges that the squad has been gearing up for the return to domestic action.

"It's been a long wait to get back to the Guinness Premiership. We've spent the past few weeks trying to fine tune our game and establish our best possible line up before going into the next phase of matches.

"After the first five games, we need that time away from the league. We've done as much as we can in my view, all the players and coaches have worked very hard. We've changed what need to be changed and improved where we need to improve. But the proof will be in the performance against Northampton on Sunday.

"Northampton have done well to get two wins from five in the Premiership and played well in the Anglo-Welsh and European Challenge Cups."

"Their confidence is naturally high and they have several players, as a result, selected for international duty this weekend. That's what can happen."

"It is a big game for us. A win can turn things around for us enormously. But it's a big game for Northampton as well as they'll be expecting to beat the team at the bottom of the table."

Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that the Saints' recent form will count for nothing if they don't leave Bristol with a Premiership win on Sunday afternoon.

During October Saints earned a place in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final and two wins in the European Challenge Cup. But Mallinder today insisted that success in these two competitions should not come at the expense of Premiership survival.

"Staying in the Premiership is the ultimate aim for our season and Sunday's match is key in our campaign," he said. "Bristol have not had the best of starts but they are playing well without getting the final result. They have been competitive at the Memorial Stadium, running Sale close in the league and leading Saracens for most of their match two weeks ago.

"They have some dangerous players and we cannot go into the game with any complacency. We have only got two wins in the Premiership from the first five rounds and the trip to Bristol is very important to generate some momentum in the league."

Bristol Rugby: Vunga Lilo; Tom Arscott, Neil Brew, Ed Barnes, David Lemi; Adrian Jarvis, Graeme Beveridge; Alex Clarke, Mark Regan, Jason Hobson; Roy Winters, Robert Sidoli; Alfie To'oala, Joe El Abd (capt), Dan Ward-Smith

Replacements: Scott Linklater, Darren Crompton, Mariano Sambucetti, Iain Grieve, Shaun Perry, Luke Eves, Mat Turner

Northmapton Saints: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Chris Mayor, James Downey, Bruce Reihana(c), Stephen Myler, Lee Dickson, Tom Smith, Paul Shields, Barry Stewart, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Christian Day, Mark Hopley, Mark Easter, Roger Wilson

Replacements: Joe Gray, Soane Tonga'uiha, Juandre Kruger, Courtney Lawes, Alan Dickens, Carlos Spencer, Nils Mordt