Kameli Ratuvou struggles against the London Irish defence © Getty Images

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Matches: Saracens 15 - 22 Leicester Tigers

Players/Officials: Lewis Moody | Brendan Venter

Tournaments/Tours: Guinness Premiership

Teams: England | Leicester Tigers | Saracens

Current Premiership leaders Saracens face reigning champions Leicester at Vicarage Road on Saturday faced with bouncing back from a league defeat for the first time this season.

Brendan Venter's side still lead by three points at the top of the table, but consecutive defeats would see them reeled in by the chasing pack, with Tigers currently seven points behind on 32 points. Saracens' aura has been shattered and the notoriously streetwise Leicester pack will be all too aware of the smell of blood in the water as they take on a pack that has battered all before them to this point in the season.

Last weekend's victory over Sale meant that the Tigers finished 2009 unbeaten at Welford Road, with Lewis Moody skippering the side after some superb form since his return from injury. The home side are expecting a bumper crowd for the game, traditionally one of the most eagerly anticipated in their calendar.

And in team news for the game, Saracens make three changes - all in the forwards. Carlos Nieto, Tom Ryder and Andy Saull all return to the starting line-up while director of rugby Brendan Venter names an unchanged backline for the clash.

"You will lose games in sport - that is inevitable," said Venter following his side's first loss of the campaign. "But the test of a good team is how you react and I am sure that we will be a better team for that defeat. We will learn from it.

"We are really looking forward to Saturday's game in front of a big crowd at Vicarage Road. Leicester have an excellent squad of players and have shown with their results this season that they fully intend to defend their title so we know it will be a very hard game."

Louis Deacon returns to captain Leicester after being rested for last weekend's win over Sale Sharks as part of the England Elite Player Squad agreement and returns to join Geoff Parling at lock. Boris Stankovich and George Chuter start alongside Dan Cole in the front row and Ben Woods starts his first game since September after his recovery from injury. Flanker Lewis Moody is rested for the game while Brett Deacon comes into the back row.

Ahead of the game, head coach Richard Cockerill said, "This is a big part of the season for us with Saracens and London Wasps in the Guinness Premiership then two big games in the Heineken Cup before we go into the Six Nations period. We've had two good wins in the last two weeks and we need to maintain a bit of momentum, but Saracens are at the top of the table and we expect a tough test."

Saracens: Alex Goode; Rodd Penney, Kameli Ratuvou, Brad Barritt, Chris Wyles; Glen Jackson, Justin Marshall; Matias Aguero, Fabio Ongaro, Carlos Nieto, Steve Borthwick (c), Tom Ryder, Wikus van Heerden, Andy Saull, Ernst Joubert

Replacements: Schalk Brits, Rhys Gill, Tom Mercey, Mouritz Botha, Justin Melck, Moses Rauluni, Derick Hougaard, Richard Haughton

Leicester: Scott Hamilton; Johne Murphy, Dan Hipkiss, Anthony Allen, Lote Tuqiri; Toby Flood, Ben Youngs, Boris Stankovich, George Chuter, Dan Cole, Louis Deacon (c), Geoff Parling, Brett Deacon, Ben Woods, Jordan Crane

Replacements: Mefin Davies, Robbie Harris, Marcos Ayerza, Ben Kay, Craig Newby, James Grindal, Jeremy Staunton, Alesana Tuilagi