Premiership: Vital points on offer
After moving past the halfway mark, every point in the next round of the Premiership - the last before the break for the next round of matches in Europe - will be crucial.
A great line-up of six matches starts on Friday at Kingsholm - when lowly Gloucester host ambitious Saracens.
Saturday's action starts when Sale Sharks (seventh on the standings, five points behind third-placed Wasps - host the table-topping Northampton Saints team. Bath face Wasps and Harlequins are at home Leicester Tigers in the other Saturday games. The latter is on front of a sell-out crowd at The Stoop.
Sunday will see a resurgent Newcastle Falcons host London Welsh and London Irish face Exeter Chiefs.
Kelly Brown, who will captain Saracens on Friday, the Scotland international stepping in for the injured Alistair Hargreaves, said last season's beaten finalists in both Europe and the Premiership are going well without fully firing.
"We've looked at the previous five games and we can take a lot of confidence into Friday's game," Brown said.
"I think we've done well in our last few games, but in saying that we're working very hard on what we can improve on - I think it's only a matter of time before we pull it all together."
"In saying that, we feel that we're in a good place and we're very excited by Friday."
Gloucester's win over Exeter was just their second win in their last seven league games.
However, Darren Dawidiuk said the feeling was positive around Kingsholm this week.
"It's been very good in training," the Chiefs hooker said.
The spirit within the camp is understandably high after what was a much needed win," he added.
"We had a lot to prove especially after the run we had been on. But it's about getting momentum for the next game and maintaining that so we can't afford to get too carried away.
"Being in the bottom half of the table is not where we wanted to be at the start of the season and so now it is about pushing up."
We look at all the Round 13 matches!
Friday, January 9
(Kingsholm - Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Gloucester have won just two of their last seven Premiership encounters, both away from home, at London Irish in Round Nine and at Exeter Chiefs in round 12.
Interestingly in those seven matches they have five times conceded three tries in a game but never allowed an opponent a try bonus.
The Cherry and Whites have lost their last three Premiership rugby matches at Kingsholm, whilst the only time they have ever lost four league games in a row at their citadel in the same season was in 1995/96.
Saracens have won their last five fixtures in all competitions since their 19-27 reversal at Exeter in Round Nine of Premiership Rugby, this was Saracens only defeat in their last five away fixtures in any tournament.
Gloucester have beaten Saracens just once in their last nine encounters since 2010: 28-23 at Kingsholm on 20 April 2013.
The teams:
For 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 Richard Hibbard 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Bill Meakes.
For Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 James Johnston, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Ernst Joubert, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Ben Ransom.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Kelvin Stewart and Nigel Carrick
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Saturday, January 10
(AJ Bell Stadium - Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Sale Sharks have slipped to back-to-back defeats against Leicester and Wasps, but have not lost three in succession in the same season since December 2012.
The Sharks have scored at least one try in all 28 Premiership home games they have played at AJ Bell Stadium.
Northampton Saints have won their last seven matches in all tournaments since their 18-24 defeat at home to Exeter in Round Seven of the Premiership.
The Saints are the tournament's best away side, having tallied 23 league points from their six trips so far.
Sale's only victory in their last seven clashes with the Saints in all tournaments was 19-6 in this equivalent fixture at AJ Bell Stadium last March.
The Saints have however been victorious twice before at the venue, 27-16 in the Premiership in November 2012 and 28-14 in the quarterfinal of last season's European Challenge Cup.
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Will Addison, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Magnus Lund, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Ross Harrison, 19 TJ Ioane, 20 David Seymour, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Tom Arscott.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Ben Nutley, 6 Tom Wood (captain), 5 Calum Clark, 4 Sam Dickinson, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Jordan Onojaife, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 James Wilson, 23 Ken Pisi.
Referee: Matt Carley
Assistant referees: Steve Lee and Paul Burton
TMO: Trevor Fisher
(Recreation Ground - Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Bath's seven game winning run in all tournaments came to an end at Leicester last Sunday - the first time they had completed an Premiership match with no league points since Saracens visited the Recreation Ground in February last year.
Bath's only defeat in their last dozen contests at the Rec in all competitions was 19-21 to Toulouse in Round Two of this season's European Champions Cup.
Wasps have won their last five fixtures in all competitions since their 16-18 reversal at Leicester in November.
Wasps have attained at least one try in their last 38 first team fixtures since they failed to cross the whitewash at home to Northampton in December 2013.
Wasps defeated Bath 29-22 at Adams Park in Round Six of Premiership and have not achieved a season's league double over Bath since 2007/08.
Wasps have not been triumphant at the Rec since an 11-6 victory on 27 November 2010.
Teams:
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Sam Burgess, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Matthew Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Paul James, 18 Dave Wilson, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Carl Fearns, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Olly Woodburn.
Wasps : 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell, 6 Sam Jones, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Ashley Johnson, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Elliot Daly.
Referee: Andrew Small
Assistant referees: Greg Garner and Peter Huckle
TMO: David Sainsbury
(Twickenham Stoop - Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Harlequins only two victories in the last five rounds of Premiership rugby have been against Newcastle Falcons and London Welsh, whilst their only defeat at Twickenham Stoop in their last seven fixtures in all tournaments was when Sale were the visitors in Premiership Rugby on 21st November.
Leicester Tigers have suffered only one Premiership Rugby defeat since 4 October: 19-23 at top-of-the-table Northampton Saints in round 10.
The Tigers have attained 21 league points from their last six matches, only Bath and Northampton have tallied more.
The Tigers took the reverse fixture 22-16 at Welford Road in Round Six and are attempting to achieve a first Premiership seasonal double over the Londoners since 2010/11.
Leicester have been defeated on their last three visits to Twickenham Stoop in all tournaments since their 43-33 victory there in Premiership Rugby in April 2012.
Team:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 George Lowe, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler (captain).
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Tom Williams.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Logovi'i Mulipola, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Seremaia Bai.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank and Paul Dix
TMO: Geoff Warren
Sunday, January 11
(Kingston Park - Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Newcastle Falcons have slipped to four straight Premiership defeats since their 20-10 victory at home to Gloucester on 21 November - they have however picked up three bonus points from those matches.
The Falcons have won just two of their last 14 Premiership encounters played at Kingston Park.
London Welsh have been defeated in all 18 first team games they have played this season.
The Exiles only league point this season was a try bonus gained during the 26-53 defeat at Bath in Round Two of the Premiership.
London Welsh's two previous visits to Newcastle for a league game were both in 1988 in the old Division Two, and both played at McCracken Park, the home of Northern RFC, winning 14-12 in the April and losing 26-34 in November.
Teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Alex Tait, 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Calum Green, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Riki Tipuna, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Alesana Tuilagi.
London Welsh: 15 Will Robinson, 14 Elliot Kear, 13 Tom May (captain), 12 Seb Jewell, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Piri Weepu, 9 Paul Rowley, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Pete Browne, 5 James Down, 4 Ben West, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Koree Britton, 1 Nathan Trevett
Replacements: 16 Nathan Morris, 17 Ricky Reeves, 18 Ben Cooper, 19 Richard Thorpe, 20 Ben Pienaar, 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Olly Barkley, 23 Seb Stegmann.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Roger Baileff and Andy Watson
TMO: David Grashoff
(Madejski Stadium - Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
London Irish's only victory in the last eight rounds of the Premiership was at home to London Welsh on Boxing Day.
The Exiles have won their last two games at Madejski Stadium, against Cardiff Blues in the European Challenge Cup and London Welsh and have not won three in a row at the venue since February 2014.
Exeter Chiefs have slipped to three straight defeats in the Premiership and have not lost four in a row since last February.
The Chiefs only victory in their last four away games in the tournament came at table-topping Northampton in Round Seven.
Exeter have won their last six fixtures with London Irish since the Exiles 29-22 victory in Reading on 27 December 2011.
London Irish have not won at Sandy Park since their inaugural visit in October 2010.
Teams:
London Irish: 15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eoin Griffin, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Tom Guest, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Halani Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Harry Allen, 17 Matt Parr, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Kieran Low, 21 Tomás O'Leary, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Tom Homer.
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 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Carl Rimmer.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tom Johnson, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Byron McGuigan.
Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant referees: Gareth Copsey and Andrew Pearce
TMO: Graham Hughes