Aviva Premiership Rugby Semi-Final Leicester v Northampton

Please seed. Do not cut and run as the torrent dies very quickly.

Northampton will put Heineken Cup distractions to one side on Saturday as they look to make another big club final, at the expense of Leicester. It will be of some comfort to Saints that Leinster are in the same boat of having to negate a play-off of their own before the European finale in Cardiff. However, Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder has unexpectedly not held back in his selection as his first-team returns for the trip to Welford Road. Back into the side comes captain Dylan Hartley and key prop Soane Tonga'uiha while Courtney Lawes returns at lock, Lee Dickson and Stephen Myler are reunited at half-back while Jon Clarke is back in at number 13 alongside James Downey. "It is going to be a massive game," said the boss. "Leicester are a physical and direct side who have had a lot of success this season, and they have deservedly finished top of the table at the end of the 22 rounds. They are also the reigning champions, and know what it takes to win at this stage of the season. "But while we know the size of the challenge we are not going to Welford Road just to make up the numbers. We have played some good rugby in recent matches and are going into the game in good spirits. The players have prepared well this week and know that only their best performance will be good enough if we are to get a positive result against Leicester. "We also know that individual awards will mean nothing if we don't play together as a team. At this stage of the season nothing else matters aside from winning matches and that is all we are caring about at this time."

Richard Cockerill makes two changes to the Leicester starting line-up for their play-off clash as the regular-season winners start the game as favourites. Jordan Crane and Steve Mafi return having missed last week's victory over London Irish.Crane replaces Thomas Waldrom at number eight, with the Kiwi dropping to the bench. Mafi parters George Skivington at lock, with Ed Slater joining Waldrom on the bench. Cockerill is braced for an intense battle against the Heineken Cup finalists in a match that has the added edge of being an East Midlands derby. "Finishing top of the table shows we are a consistent side week in, week out. That is important for us, but now it all comes down to a semi-final and a big game against a Saints side which has proved to be one of the best in Europe this season," said Cockerill "All four of the semi-finalists have finished the league season in good form and it promises to be a very interesting weekend. "We'll have another big crowd in at Welford Road, it's an intense local derby with a big prize to play for, so we know we have to be at our best."

Head-to-head: The scrum-half battle will be of real interest to Martin Johnson. Ben Youngs has suffered a dip in form over recent months and in contrast, Lee Dickson is flying. If an England team was picked tomorrow based purely on form then the Saint would surely start.

Form: The last seven matches between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Saints' only victory at Welford Road since 2003 was 10-9 on 24 February 2007. Leicester Tigers ended the regular Premiership season on top of the table for a third successive year and have qualified for a home semi-final for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The only opposing team to win a Premiership game at Welford Road since September 2008 is Saracens (twice). The Tigers have won their last nine semi-final encounters in all competitions. Northampton Saints are making a fourth appearance in the Premiership semi-finals but they have yet to gain a victory at this stage. The Saints have won eight of their last nine matches in all competitions. Northampton have won three of their last four semi-final encounters in all competitions. The two great East Midlands rivals have clashed in two previous semi-finals, both at Welford Road, and both resulting in Tigers wins: 28-6 in the Pilkington Cup in 1993, and 17-13 in the Zurich Championship in 2001.

Prediction: Leicester to sneak it. Tigers by 4!

The teams:

Leicester: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Matt Smith, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Craig Newby (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 George Skivington, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 James Grindal, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Horacio Agulla.

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman,17 Alex Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Stuart Commins, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.

Date: Saturday, May 14
Kick-off: 15:15 BST (14:15 GMT)
Venue: Welford Road
Referee: Wayne Barnes