| Home team | Northampton Saints |
| Away team | Bristol Bears |
| Venue | Franklin’s Gardens |
| Competition | Gallagher PREM |
| Kick off time | 7:45 pm (UK) |
| Watch Live in the UK | TNT Sports/HBO Max |
Northampton Saints vs Bristol Bears Gallagher PREM preview as the sides meet in Franklin’s Gardens.
Northampton Saints currently sit top of the PREM standings with three games to go. They hold a four-point lead over Bath and a 13-point lead over the Bristol Bears in fifth. A win for the Saints would secure them a place in the top four.
Bristol in fifth sit five points behind the top four. A win could be essential for their playoff hopes, while the Saracens could catch them if they don’t pick up a win.
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Northampton Saints vs Bristol Bears Confirmed Lineups
| Northampton Saints | Bristol Bears | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Iyogun | 1 | Genge | |||
| Smith | 2 | Thacker | |||
| Millar-Mills | 3 | Kloska | |||
| Coles | 4 | Dun | |||
| Prowse | 5 | Batley | |||
| Kemeny | 6 | Owen | |||
| Pollock | 7 | Harding | |||
| Chick | 8 | Grondona | |||
| Backs | |||||
| McParland | 9 | Randall | |||
| F Smith | 10 | Jordan | |||
| Hendy | 11 | Ravouvou | |||
| Hutchinson | 12 | Williams | |||
| Litchfield | 13 | van Rensburg | |||
| Freeman | 14 | Rees-Zammit | |||
| Furbank | 15 | Lane | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Walker | 16 | Gwilliam | |||
| Fischetti | 17 | Woolmore | |||
| Green | 18 | Lahiff | |||
| van Der Mescht | 19 | Taylor | |||
| Pearson | 20 | Ivanishvili | |||
| Graham | 21 | Marmion | |||
| Mitchell | 22 | Moroni | |||
| Dingwall | 23 | Heward | |||
Recent Form:
Northampton Saints (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 9th May 2026 | PREM | Leicester Tigers | 41-17 |
| Won | 25th April 2026 | PREM | Bath | 41-38 |
| Won | 18th April 2026 | PREM | Exeter Chiefs | 28-35 |
| Loss | 10th April 2026 | Champions Cup | Bath | 43-41 |
| Won | 3rd April 2026 | Champions Cup | Castres | 49-41 |
Northampton Saints lost just their second PREM game of the season in the last round against the Leicester Tigers. They had also won five of their last six games before the Leicester defeat, losing only to Bath in the Champions Cup during this run. Northampton lost this game heavily and were 41-5 behind with 10 minutes to go. They scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to leave the game 41-17.
Bristol Bears (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 9th May 2026 | Prem | Saracens | 26-41 |
| Won | 24th April 2026 | Prem | Newcastle Red Bulls | 19-52 |
| Won | 17th April 2026 | Prem | Gloucester | 53-12 |
| Loss | 4th April 2026 | Champions Cup | Toulouse | 59-26 |
| Loss | 28th March 2026 | Prem | Harlequins | 14-18 |
Bristol had been on a seven-game losing streak when they picked up wins against Gloucester and the Newcastle Red Bulls. In the last round of PREM action, they had a crucial meeting at home against the Saracens. They took an early lead but by halftime found themselves 34-21 behind. Both teams would score only one try each in the second half, and the Saracens won 41-26 to close the gap between fifth and sixth.
Northampton Saints vs Bristol Bears head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 29th November 2025 | Prem | Bristol Bears | 46-12 |
| 26th April 2025 | Prem | Northampton Saints | 48-31 |
| 25th October 2024 | Prem | Bristol Bears | 31-23 |
| 22nd March 2024 | Prem | Bristol Bears | 52-21 |
| 21st October 2023 | Prem | Bristol Bears | 27-33 |
The Bristol Bears have won six of the last seven meetings between the teams, with the only win for the Northampton Saints coming at Franklin’s Gardens last season. The winning team has scored more than 45 points in three of the last four meetings, and Bristol have scored more than 30 points in the last eight games. The loss to Bristol Bears in November was Northampton’s only defeat up until last week.
