Aviva Premiership Betting: Tigers set to scalp Sale

Geoffrey expects Toby Flood's team to triumph at Sale
Geoffrey Riddle explains why he expect Leicester to triumph up north while derbies in the west country and the capital could reward going low in the points markets.
Sale v Leicester, Friday 20:00, Sky Sports
Sale had a right to feel aggrieved at some of the refereeing decisions handed out to them last week at The Rec in their defeat against Bath but the script was to give Olly Barkley a royal send off to Racing Metro. Bath thrashed Sale 31-10 and although the scoreline probably does not reflect Sale's good work the fact remains that they are yet to win this season.
They look terribly wet behind the ears, and lack any direct leadership. Last week they trailed 19-10 with seven minutes left on the clock and decided to run a very kickable penalty. It is the mantra of all good teams to take what points you can, when you can. As an illustration of this, early in the match Bath skipper Stuart Hooper demanded Barkley kick a penalty from a wide angle for three points - leadership Sale simply do not have.
Danny Cipriani continues to play in fits and starts - he was lively last weekend when coming on from the bench, and the arrival of Leicester could easily overwhelm Sale.
Referee Wayne Barnes is one of the best arbiters who officiate in the league and he will not allow Leicester to get away in the same manner that Bath did last week but that is not going to be enough.
The Salford City Stadium still has not the feel of a home for the Sharks and Tigers should scalp them having lost only to Exeter on the road in the past 12 months.
Recommended Bet
1pt Leicester to win by under 12.5 points
Gloucester v Bath, Saturday, 14:15, ESPN
If Gloucester against Bath at Kingsholm did not have the electrifying and uplifting asset of being a West Country derby then there would be little to recommend this match as a betting medium.
Gloucester sit in fifth, one point above their bitter rivals, and neither side has showed enough in their first five matches to suggest they can break the hegemony of the top four at the business end of the season.
Both teams have scored and conceded a similar amount of tries and only the standout performances of kickers Olly Barkley and Freddie Burns have made anyone stand up and take notice.
Interestingly, both sides have played Worcester, Northampton and Wasps so far but trying to work out some sort of collateral form guide from these matches is barely worth it. For instance, Bath edged out Worcester at Sixways on the first day of the season, whereas Gloucester could only manage a draw. Visiting Northampton beat them both by single-figure margins and both enjoyed high-scoring victories over Wasps at home.
With two such apparently evenly-matched sides the total points market could be a rich source of profit. In five of the last six matches between the two sides four of them have resulted in total points make-ups in the 20s.
Sometimes investments seem too obvious but as millionaire trader Warren Buffett has explained in the past it is better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.
Unless the biting point in the total points market is under 35, you've got a fair price with which to get with the unders.
Recommended Bet
2pts under total points at anything above 35.
London Welsh v Saracens, Sunday, 14:15, ESPN
London Welsh have had their successes this season and they would greatly add to those achievements if they could at least score a try against Saracens on Sunday.
Sarries' defence has let in only three tries all season, and the Exiles will do well to add to their haul of eight tries so far.
London Welsh racked up 21 points last week against Gloucester only to be cruelly denied a result in the final six minutes. It was an excellent effort and built on the 29 points they put past a sorry Sale in round four.
Against the top teams, however, they have struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking over and against Sarries that is a huge issue.
They failed to score a try against Harlequins and scored only 13 points against Leicester.
Of course, Sarries are hardly finding it easy to cross the whitewash themselves and have not scored a try in three matches - a record for the club.
There were flourishes of dash last week when inflicting on Harlequins their first defeat of the season, no more so than Schalk Britz's astounding chip for Chris Ashton to just miss out on and they look booked for the win. By how much though looks a lot less easy to discern and a lack of points looks an easier option.
Recommended Bet
2pts unders in the total points market at anything above 34