Northampton's Chris Ashton took his try tally to 22 in 29 games with a hat-trick against Gloucester last weekend © Getty Images

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Matches: London Irish 13 - 23 Leeds Tykes | Newcastle Falcons 7 - 31 Leicester Tigers | Saracens 37 - 18 Harlequins | Northampton Saints 38 - 23 Gloucester Rugby | Worcester Warriors 20 - 24 Wasps | Bath Rugby 34 - 15 Sale Sharks

Players/Officials: Toby Flood | Lewis Moody

Tournaments/Tours: Guinness Premiership

Teams: Bath Rugby | Gloucester Rugby | Harlequins | Leeds Tykes | Leicester Tigers | London Irish | Newcastle Falcons | Northampton Saints | Sale Sharks | Saracens | Wasps | Worcester Warriors

The race for the Guinness Premiership play-offs and the battle to avoid relegation is set to intensify this weekend with the penultimate round of action in the regular season.

While the race for the post-season and a place in next season's Heineken Cup is set to go down to the wire, the battle at the other end of the table could reach a dramatic conclusion on Sunday at Headingley where resurgent Leeds take on basement side Worcester in our Game of the Week. Defeat for the Warriors would see them relegated from the Premiership.

Both Sale and Newcastle also find themselves in the relegation mire and will be desperate to pull clear of the danger zone when they clash at Edgeley Park on Friday night. Victory for either side will see them take a big step towards safety but a draw will leave them both open to a late surge from Worcester.

The Falcons have been able to recall skipper Carl Hayman at tight-head and James Hudson in the second-row. Samoan international Filipo Levi switches to blindside and there is also a return at fullback, where Alex Tait slots in. The Sharks call on Charlie Hodgson and Richard Wigglesworth at halfback, with Dwayne Peel on the bench, and there is a boost in midfield as Lee Thomas returns to action.

Leicester and Northampton enter the latest round of action as favourites to book a home semi-final but to do so they will need to record victories over Harlequins and Saracens respectively.

The Saints play host to Saracens at Franklin's Gardens with the visitors also looking to cement their place in the play-offs and maybe bag a home tie in the last four. Northampton enter the game in mixed form having swept Gloucester aside last weekend before losing out to Bath in midweek - a result that saw them miss out on the chance to climb to the top of the pile once again. Stephen Myler will play his 100th game for the Saints after beating Shane Geraghty to the fly-half jersey while Courtney Lawes starts at blindside, allowing the experienced Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe to partner Juandre Kruger in the second-row.

Sarries have drafted four fresh faces into their side after their Wembley excursion with Glen Jackson, Neil de Kock, Mouritz Botha and Jacques Burger all starting. Justin Marshall and Derick Hougaard drop to the bench, where there is a return to action for Wales prop Rhys Gill after injury.

The Tigers can also look forward to home advantage in their meeting with Quins whose play-off hopes may have faded but the prospect of securing Heineken Cup rugby next season should prove more than enough of an incentive. Leicester maintanied their push for domestic honours by brutally accounting for Newcastle in their last game and will be confident of powering towards the play-offs against a Quins side that fell to Saracens at Wembley.

Chris Robshaw returns in the Quins back-row and there are changes up front as Matt Cairns and Aston Croall are called in to combat the Tigers' skills in the tight. England tight-head Dan Cole is back in action for the home side while Craig Newby starts at No.8 in place of the injured Jordan Crane.

Elsewhere on Saturday, London Irish will resume their quest for a semi-final berth with a trip to Kingsholm to tackle Gloucester, who are also in the hunt for a place amongst Europe's elite next season. A shock defeat at the hands of Leeds dented the Exiles' play-off hopes and boss Toby Booth will surely be hoping that the result acts as a wake-up call as the season enters the defining stage.

Booth has made two changes to his starting side as Elvis Seveali'i and Richard Thorpe return. Thorpe takes the No.8 jersey while Seveali'i is in his customary outside-centre role. Ryan Lamb has recovered from a knock to start on the bench.On the Gloucester bench is former All Black Greg Somerville, who will join Melbourne Rebels at the end of the season, while Lesley Vainikolo has recovered from a dead leg to take his place on the wing.

London Wasps climbed back into the play-off picture at the Exiles' expense last weekend but they will face a stiff test of their credentials against Bath in the 'St George's Day' fixture with the West Country side still alive in the hunt. Wasps saw off a determined Worcester side battling for Premiership survival last Saturday and will need to raise their game against a Bath side that impressed in despatching Sale at The Rec last Saturday.

In a big boost to Bath Butch James is fit to start at fly-half and leads a backline that has been in free-scoring form in recent weeks. Wasps skipper Tom Rees will play his 100th game for the club while Mark Van Gisbergen, Tim Payne and Joe Worsley all return to the starting line-up.