Exeter vs Gloucester Prediction: Chiefs to make the most of home comforts

Exeter Chiefs have already shown they will be a tough nut to crack at Sandy Park this season and will look to make home advantage count when they host rivals Gloucester on Sunday.

Gloucester head into this game on the back of a 45-27 defeat at the hands of fellow rivals Bath and another tough afternoon might be in store for the Cherry & Whites down in Devon.

Team news

Starting with the hosts, Exeter head coach Rob Baxter has made five changes from the side that suffered a 34-19 defeat at Northampton Saints last time out.

The entire front row has been replaced, with Scott Sio, Jack Yeandle and Ehren Painter all getting starting roles.

Aidon Davis makes his first start of the campaign in the back row, with Ross Vintcent moving to the bench, while Rusi Tuima is the other change at lock.

As for Gloucester, they make two changes from the side that suffered West Country derby disappointment at the hands of Bath last time out.

George Scrivington has decided to make two alterations to his backline, with Micky Young coming in at scrum-half and Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit back on the wing for the suspended Jonny May.

Match odds

Exeter are the heavy favourites going into this encounter at 1/5 to claim the victory. Gloucester are the 18/5 underdogs to get back to winning ways, while a tie on the day is available at 25/1.

Exeter Chiefs -12.5 Handicap @ 10/11

Exeter’s three wins in the Premiership so far this season have all come on home soil and that might well prove to be the deciding factor between these sides on Sunday.

The Chiefs said farewell to some big names over the summer, with the likes of Jack Nowell and Stuart Hogg seeing their successful spells at Exeter come to an end.

One thing that has not changed is that Exeter at Sandy Park are a force to be reckoned with and Gloucester’s issues with and without the ball could be exposed again this weekend.

The Cherry & Whites have only scored 87 points in their first five games of the season, with no side scoring fewer in the Premiership in the same amount of matches or otherwise.

Without the ball, Gloucester have conceded 135 points, at an average of 27 points a game.

Conceding that many points makes it hard to win matches, especially away from the home comforts of Kingsholm.

With that in mind, it would be no surprise to see Exeter come out on top in this one and fall on the right side of the -12.5 handicap in the process.

When it comes to the handicap market, those backing Gloucester will have been left disappointed in 12 of their last 13 Premiership markets.

Expect that trend to continue at Sandy Park on Sunday.

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