Lewis Moody returns to the Leicester starting line-up © Getty Images

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Matches: Leicester Tigers 34 - 8 Wasps

Tournaments/Tours: Guinness Premiership

Teams: England | Leicester Tigers | Wasps

The most keenly-contested rivalry in the Guinness Premiership will continue on Saturday when Leicester host Wasps at Welford Road.

In proof that the weather waits for no man, a fixture that has graced the Premiership and Heineken Cup finals was in the balance due to the freezing temperatures and snow across England but referee Romain Poite gave the game the green light on Saturday morning. The Tigers had already shifted kick-off to 3.15pm with the hope of beating the freeze and have also been employing a dome over the pitch after removing 20 tonnes of snow earlier in the week.

Both sides will be eager for the game to go ahead after differing fortunes last weekend. Wasps fell short against a dogged Newcastle side at Adam's Park, while the Tigers celebrated an away victory over league leaders Saracens at Vicarage Road.

Lewis Moody, Marcos Ayerza and Craig Newby all return to the Leicester pack, with England and British & Irish Lions flanker Tom Croft fit to take a place among the replacements. Jeremy Staunton is drafted into the midfield due to an injury to Anthony Allen and faces his former club.

Wasps boss Tony Hanks has made four changes for the game, with Mark Van Gisbergen, Paul Sackey and Ben Jacobs all returning to a new-look backline. Danny Cipriani shifts from fullback to fly-half in place of Dave Walder. In the pack, the only change sees Ben Broster return following a calf-strain.

"I was very pleased with the way we played at Saracens," Tigers coach Richard Cockerill said. "The result was very important, but the way we played was impressive too. We controlled the ball, we stood up to a very good pack and our accuracy was much better.

"Wasps are a good side and they've got a good record against us. They are also the team just behind us in the table so it is very important for us to keep our run going. Lewis Moody has had his rest and he is desperate to get out there playing for us again, and having Crofty back in the squad is also important."

Leicester: Scott Hamilton; Johne Murphy, Dan Hipkiss, Jeremy Staunton, Lote Tuqiri; Toby Flood, Ben Youngs, Marcos Ayerza, Mefin Davies, Dan Cole, Louis Deacon (capt), Geoff Parling, Craig Newby, Lewis Moody, Jordan Crane

Replacements George Chuter, Boris Stankovich, Robbie Harris, Tom Croft, Brett Deacon, James Grindal, Sam Vesty, Alesana Tuilagi

Wasps: Mark Van Gisbergen; Paul Sackey , Ben Jacobs, Dominic Waldouck, David Lemi; Danny Cipriani, Mark Robinson; Tim Payne, Rob Webber, Ben Broster, Simon Shaw, George Skivington, John Hart (capt), Will Matthews, Dan Ward-Smith

Replacements: Joe Ward, Sakaria Taulafo, Gabriel Bocca, Marty Veale, Dan Leo, James Honeyben, Dave Walder, Tom Varndell