London Irish v Northampton Saints: Tom Vickers' big match preview

Dave Porecki dived over late on as London Irish won at Saints in January

Competition: Gallagher Premiership (round 15)

Venue: Twickenham Stoop

Date and kick-off time: Saturday, August 22, 2020, 2pm

Weather: 21c, partly cloudy

Live television coverage: BT Sport 3/Ultimate/Channel 5

Referee: Ian Tempest

London Irish: Homer; Loader, Williams, Brophy Clews, Hassell-Collins; Jackson, Meehan; Dell, Cornish, Hoskins; Nott, de Chaves; Cooke, Cowan (c), Tuisue.

Replacements: Matu’u, Goodrick-Clarke, Kepu, Donnell, Ioane, Phipps, Atkins, Neal.

Saints: Furbank; Olowofela, Proctor, Hutchinson, Collins; Grayson, Mitchell; van Wyk, Haywood, Hill; Moon, Isiekwe; Gibson, Ludlam (c), Adendorff.

Replacements: Marshall, Hobbs-Awoyemi, Painter, Bean, Uru, James, Bird-Tulloch, Tuala.

Outs: Saints: Alex Waller (Achilles), Tom Wood (pulmonary embolism), Alex Coles (ankle), Ollie Sleightholme (hamstring), Connor Tupai (wrist)

Most recent meeting: Friday, January 24, 2020: Saints 16 London Irish 20 (Gallagher Premiership)

Tom's preview: It's fair to say the return to rugby action didn't pan out as planned for Saints.

There was none of the summer sun that is expected to aid their game, and none of the joy of victory as they fell to another Franklin's Gardens defeat.

They have lost all four Premiership home matches in 2020, a sobering run that has seen them slip to sixth in the standings.

And in this most unforgiving of leagues, that slide has to be arrested sooner rather than later.

In fact, Saints really need to get back in the winning habit this weekend.

And they haven't been too bad on the road in 2020, winning league games at Wasps and Worcester, while conquering Lyon in fine fashion in the Champions Cup.

Yes, there was an Exeter evisceration in the middle of all that, but, by and large, Saints have found ways to win on their travels of late.

And they shouldn't need any extra motivation this weekend.

Because the loss to London Irish back in January was one of their most disappointing of the season so far.

Saints went into the game on a high after that fantastic win in France, which booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.

But they fell flat, with Api Ratuniyarawa's second-half red card proving costly as Dave Porecki dived over to deliver a shock late win for Irish.

The away side had largely dealt with Saints well that night, and their win was not exactly undeserved.

But Saints must turn the tables this weekend.

It will be another strange experience for all involved, not only because of the fact it will be another game behind closed doors, but also because it will be a home game for Irish at a ground that is not their own.

It means Saints travel to the Twickenham Stoop twice in eight days as they square up to Irish on Saturday before going to Harlequins on the following weekend.

A home battle with Bath is sandwiched between those matches, and it's fair to say that this next set of games could be almost season-defining.

Saints have so many tough fixtures still to come against the likes of Exeter, Sale and Bristol.

And they simply have to get some winning momentum over this next week or so.

They will have to improve massively at the breakdown to avoid coughing up so much possession.

And their defence must be much tougher than what they produced against Wasps, who were akin to a hot knife cutting through butter at times.

There are plenty of areas for improvement but if Saints can find a way to play their own slick game, they can get the wins they want.

And some of that summer sun surely wouldn't go amiss for them at the Stoop in the next couple of weeks.

Tom's prediction: London Irish certainly won't let Saints have it all their own way, but I'm backing Chris Boyd's side to edge over the line at the Stoop this Saturday. London Irish 17 Saints 24.