Exeter Chiefs – Wasps

Exeter Chiefs will host the Wasps at Sandy Park in a rematch of last year’s Aviva Premiership final, which Exeter won 23-20 at Twickenham. The two teams started the season well and already planted themselves on the first two positions in the table, each club having two wins and a loss in the first three rounds.

Exeter started the season with an average performance which determined a 21-28 defeat at Gloucester, but the champions stepped it up in the next two games and they were excellent in wins over London Irish (37-7) and Worchester Warriors (41-10). Exeter will definitely feel that a victory over Wasps will put them on the right track early on in their quest to defend their title.

Wasps also has 2 wins and 1 loss in the first three rounds, but they seemed a bit less impressive than Exeter. The Wasps started off with two victories, beating Sale by 15 and Worchester by 14, but suffered a very disappointing loss against Harlequins last weekend (21-24) in a home game they really should have been able to win.

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Team news: Wasps are struggling with injuries, missing Rieder, Gaskell, Myall, Robson, Le Roux and Lovobalavu but the big news is that their influential playmaker Danny Cipriani has just been ruled out ahead of this clash, so that will be a massive blow. Jimmy Goperth returns after a knock and will slide into his spot at No.10, which means that at least Wasps won`t miss Cipriani’s kicking.

Cipriani is involved in everything Wasps do on the rugby pitch, so his absence will be badly felt. Wasps also lost arguably their best player in the summer, Kurtley Beale, so coming into this match they don`t look as menacing as they were often times last season. Their poor showing last weekend against Harlequins adds to that impression.

Exeter have been great in the past couple of rounds and even though Wasps will be a much tougher task than Worchester or London Irish, those big wins brought confidence to a team already brimming with it after last year’s title campaign.

Exeter did look the slightly better team in the start of this season and when you add the massively important home court advantage, as well as Wasps struggling with injuries and also losing Danny Cipriani, it`s hard to see the hosts losing. These two X factors might bee just too much for Wasps to overcome.

Look for Exeter to impose their dominance in the scrum and at the breakdown and take it from there. They should keep most of the ball and be the (much) better team in the physical aspects of the game, they should take control of the scrum, creating opportunities out wide, milking penalties and putting points on the board.

The point spread is set reasonably at 5.5 points and I do think Exeter will eventually cover this handicap, but I will go with the safer option and back the straight Exeter victory. Odds around 1.40 -1.45 are satisfying and still good enough to be played as a singles bet.

When all is said and done, I think this prediction is worth of a 10 unit investment. It`s just too difficult for Wasps to beat the defending champions on the road without Cipriani and a whole bunch of other players. My tip is Exeter Chiefs to win. Prediction: Exeter Chiefs – Wasps 31 – 21.

Pick: Exeter Chiefs
Odds: 1.46 @ 1xBet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 4.60
Event date: 24 September