Northampton Saints vs Cardiff Predictions - Saints too good for Cardiff in Investec Champions Cup opener
Northampton Saints are set to host Cardiff in the European Rugby Champions Cup, coming off an 11-match home winning streak. The Saints have won both previous encounters against Cardiff and are in strong domestic form, scoring heavily at home. Cardiff, meanwhile, have struggled away and face injury concerns, including the loss of Taulupe Faletau. The article concludes that Northampton are favoured to cover the -24.5 handicap in this fixture, based on their impressive record and recent performances.
- Northampton Saints have won 11 consecutive home matches.
- Cardiff have never beaten Northampton in a competitive match and have struggled in recent away games.
- Northampton Saints are tipped to cover the -24.5 handicap against Cardiff.
Northampton Saints have been in fine form at home this season (Getty Images)
Northampton Saints vs Cardiff Predictions
Northampton Saints fell just short in the semi-finals of the European Rugby Champions Cup and are on a lengthy winning streak at home. Cardiff reached the round of 16 in last season's European Challenge Cup and are yet to beat Northampton in a competitive match.
- Northampton Saints have won 11 consecutive home fixtures.
- Northampton Saints have won 2 consecutive matches against Cardiff.
- Cardiff have lost 3 of their last 4 away games.
Head to Head
Northampton Saints have the advantage with two victories to none against Cardiff.
Northampton Saints Form
Northampton Saints had a solid campaign in the previous edition of the European Rugby Champions Cup, but fell just short against Bath in the semi-finals, losing 43-41.
The Saints are in second place in the Premiership Rugby table with 11 points after three rounds.
At the start of their PREM campaign, Northampton defeated the Newcastle Red Bulls 59-26 at home and lost 41-26 away to Bristol before thrashing Bath 71-48 at home.
Northampton Saints have been in great touch at home in their domestic league this season, scoring plenty of tries, and they have defeated Cardiff on two consecutive occasions.
Cardiff Form
Cardiff competed in the EPCR Challenge Cup last season, reaching the round of 16 of the competition before losing 38-35 to fellow URC side Benetton.
The Welsh team is currently sixth overall in the United Rugby Championship standings with nine points after three matches.
The Blues and Blacks have contested three games in the URC this season so far, beating the Scarlets 21-15 and Zebre 40-17 before losing to Leinster 29-5.
Cardiff have a tough opening Investec Champions Cup fixture away to Northampton Saints, as their opponents have won ten times at home and have scored 130 points in two home games this season.
Team News
Northampton Saints
Loose forward Callum Chick has stated how Northampton will implement their game to put Cardiff under pressure: “Being at home and playing against Cardiff, who are going pretty well in the URC, hopefully we can get a big five points, but we won’t really look at the outcome because we’re very much performance-based.
“Something we always speak about is that it doesn’t really matter who turns up here or when we go away, who we’re playing against.
“Obviously, we’ll look at their trends and what they like to do, but it’s very much about how we can get our game on the field, how we can play fast, how we can put our game on them. If we do that, they’ll be struggling.”
England prop Emmanuel "Manny" Iyogun has signed a new contract extension with the Saints.
Cardiff
Taulupe Faletau pulled out of the match against Leinster with a calf injury and is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
Verdict
Northampton Saints have been in fine form at home and are tipped to cover the -24.5 handicap in their European Rugby Champions Cup match against Cardiff.
Northampton -24.5
Handicap
@1,91 - 3 Units
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His love of sport has seen him venture down the road of researching sporting history for the past several years, specifically boxing, cricket and football.
Other sports of particular interest are golf, tennis, horse racing and motorsports.
Additionally, he spends his time researching the military history of his home country of South Africa.
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