Premiership: Saintly start
The first round of Premiership action in 2015 kicks off when the table-topping Northampton Saints host Newcastle Falcons at Franklin's Gardens.
Their closest rivals, Bath, travel to Welford Road to take on Leicester Tigers, while third-placed Saracens are at home to London Irish.
Other games in Round 12 will see Exeter Chiefs host Gloucester at Sandy Park, Wasps face Sale Sharks at the Ricoh Arena and London Welsh tackle Harlequins at the Kassam Stadium.
Newcastle Falcons attack coach Dave Walder has warned Northampton Saints that his side are a superior outfit to the one that received a first-half blitz by the Premiership champions earlier this season.
In Round Three at Kingston Park, the Falcons could barely catch their breath as Saints entered half time with a 28-3 lead.
To Newcastle's credit they emerged a much-improved team, but the deficit proved too large before slumping to a 10-35 defeat.
The Falcons have since gone on to make large strides - ending their 20-game Premiership losing run - and will be looking to end a similar streak against Saints.
They have not beaten Jim Mallinder's men for ten consecutive matches in all competitions but their last victory did come at Franklin's Gardens, a 19-13 victory in February 2009.
And Walder is expecting his side to mount a serious challenge in Northampton on Friday to mark a year of great change.
"Our 20 minutes in the first half of the first game against Northampton was probably the worst 20 minutes of the season," said Walder.
"It was an eye-opener about what to expect if we want to realistically get at them. We got back on an even keel but to be 25 points down was unfortunate.
"They're a big physical team with world class runners, carriers - you name it, they've got it.
"But we're a vastly different team in both attack and defence from the start of the season, we've got nothing to lose and we're going to throw everything at them. We don't need to be motivated, it's a massive game to the start the New Year."
However, Saints flank Sam Dickinson has been keeping a close eye on Newcastle's improved form - and stressed they will be do anything but taking Dean Richards' men for granted.
Northampton are on a run of six victories and will be aiming to consolidate Premiership's top spot.
"We are very aware of the threat that Newcastle pose - they are not the team they used to be and they have pushed some very good teams close this season," said Dickinson.
"They are winning much cleaner ball, their scrum is heavy and the whole club is becoming a force to be reckoned with. We need to take them very seriously and we will.
"Franklin's Gardens is a great place to play, regardless of who you are facing, but it is always a great occasion to be playing in these Friday night games and we want to start the New Year well.
"We've beaten Falcons already this year so we know the game will be won and lost in the forwards and they've got a big heavy pack that will try to maul it around so we'll be ready to deal with that."
We look at all the Round 12 matches!
Friday, January 2
(Franklin's Gardens - Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Northampton Saints have won their last six matches in all tournaments since tripping up at home to Exeter Chiefs in Round Seven of Premiership, this represents their only defeat at Franklin's Gardens since Leicester were the visitors in March.
Newcastle Falcons have lost their last three fixtures in Premiership since they beat Gloucester at Kingston Park in Round Eight.
The Falcons' solitary away victory in the tournament since October 2013 came at struggling London Welsh last October.
Northampton have won their last ten contests with Falcons in all competitions since Newcastle were victorious 19-13 at Franklin's Gardens in Premiership on 28th February 2009.
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Phil Dowson (captain), 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Sam Dickinson, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Ben Nutley, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 James Wilson, 23 Tom Stephenson.
Newcastle Falcons : 15 Alex Tait, 14 Chris Harris, 13 Adam Powell , 12 Anitelea Tuilagi, 11 Danny Barnes, 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Richard Mayhew, 5 Josh Furno, 4 Calum Green, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Eric Fry.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Rob Vickers, 18 Alex Rogers, 19 Scott MacLeod, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Ruki Tipuna, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Tom Penny.
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Gareth Copsey and John Meredith
TMO: David Sainsbury
Saturday, January 3
(Allianz Park - Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Saracens have won their last four fixtures in all tournaments since they were defeated at Exeter Chiefs in Round Nine of Premiership.
Saracens only defeat at Allianz Park since early February came when Northampton were the visitors in Premiership on November 23.
London Irish's last four matches in all tournaments have all been won by the home side on the day whilst the Exiles' only away win in their last six trips was when they visited Grenoble in the European Challenge Cup on October 24.
The last four contests between the two clubs have been evenly split with two wins apiece, with London Irish being one of only two teams ever to have beaten Saracens at Allianz Park - the other being Northampton , twice.
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Nils Mordt, 23 Tim Streather.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Kieran Low, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Harry Allen, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Richard Palframan, 17 Leo Halavatau, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Sean Cox, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Tomás O’Leary, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Andrew Fenby.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Roger Baileff and Peter Huckle
TMO: David Grashoff
(Sandy Park - Kick-off: 16.30; 16.30 GMT)
Exeter Chiefs have slipped to back-to-back defeats at Sale and at Bath, but have not lost three in a row in Premiership since February.
The Chiefs have won their last eight fixtures at Sandy Park in all tournaments since Leicester beat them there in Premiership on September 13.
Gloucester have also lost their last two encounters, at home to Bath and at home to Wasps, whilst their only victory in the last six rounds of Premiership came when they visited London Irish on November 30.
Gloucester have won three of their last four away games in all competitions.
The Chiefs have narrowly beaten Gloucester twice this season, 25-22 in Premiership at Kingsholm in September and 28-27 at Sandy Park in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in November.
Gloucester have been victorious in two of their five previous visits to Sandy Park in all competitions.
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Mitch Lees, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Moray Low, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Jerry Sexton, 20 Ben White, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Byron McGuigan.
Gloucester: 15 Charlie Sharples, 14 David Halaifonua, 13 Mark Atkinson, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 James Hook, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Bill Meakes.
Referee: Andrew Small
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce and Robin Goodliffe
TMO: Keith Lewis
Sunday, January 4
(Welford Road - Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Leicester Tigers' only defeat in their last six Premiership fixtures came when they visited Northampton in Round 10.
Leicester have lost just once at Welford Road in the tournament since November 2013: 19-22 to London Irish on September 27.
Bath have won their last seven matches in all competitions since their 6-18 defeat at Exeter in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in November.
Bath have won their last three away games in all tournaments, at London Irish and at Gloucester in Premiership and at Montpellier in the European Champions Cup.
Bath are unbeaten in their last five encounters with the Tigers in all tournaments since Leicester's most recent triumph: 17-12 at Welford Road in Premiership on 1st December 2012.
The only occasion that Bath have achieved a Premiership double over the Tigers came in season 2003/04.
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Seremaia Bai.
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Sam Burgess, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Carl Fearns, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Micky Young, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Jonathan Joseph.
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Ross Campbell and Paul Dix
TMO: Graham Hughes
(Ricoh Arena - Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Wasps have won their last four matches in all tournaments since their 16-18 reversal at Leicester in Round Nine of Premiership.
Wasps have now won all three matches they have played at the Ricoh Arena, against Northampton and Munster in 2007 in the European Cup, and against London Irish on December 21.
Sale Sharks' four game winning run in Premiership ended at home to Leicester on Saturday, relinquishing a 15 point lead.
The Sharks have won their last two away games in the competition, at Harlequins and at Newcastle.
Sale have won their last six fixtures with Wasps in all tournaments since Wasps 25-18 victory at Adams Park in December 2012.
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell (captain), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Bradley Davies , 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Simon McIntyr.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Alapati Leiua.
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Will Addison, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Tom Arscott , 10 Joe Ford, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Mark Easter, 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 Magnus Lund, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Alberto de Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Eifion Lewis Roberts, 18 Ross Harrison, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Mark Cueto.
Referee: Greg Garner
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson and Roy Maybank
TMO: Geoff Warren
(Kassam Stadium - Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)
London Welsh have lost all eleven Premiership encounters this season tallying just one league point themselves whilst allowing their opponents to amass 53.
The Exiles have been defeated in all eight games in all tournaments at Kassam Stadium this season, and have not won there since beating Bristol in the first leg of last year's Championship Final.
Harlequins only win in their last four Premiership matches was 15-7 at home to Newcastle in Round 10.
Quins only away win outside of the London double-header this season came when they visited Gloucester on November 14.
Harlequins have won their last six encounters with London Welsh in all tournaments, whilst the Exiles' only competitive victory over their near rivals came in the first round of the RFU Knockout Cup at Twickenham in September 1972.
Teams:
London Welsh: 15 Will Robinson, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Nic Reynolds, 12 Seb Jewell, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Piri Weepu, 9 Paul Rowley, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Carl Kirwan (captain), 6 Peter Browne, 5 James Down, 4 Ben West, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Nathan Vella, 1 Nathan Trevett.
Replacements: 16 Koree Britton, 17 Ricky Reeves, 18 Ben Cooper, 19 Lachlan McCaffrey, 20 Ben Pienaar, 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Olly Barkley, 23 James Tincknell.
Harlequins: 15 Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 George Lowe, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Karl Dickson, 8 Nick Easter (captain), 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Joe Trayfoot, 5 Sam Twomey, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Merrick, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Tom Williams.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Nigel Carrick and Jonathan Healy
TMO: Rowan Kitt