Premiership rugby final LIVE: Exeter vs Saracens result and reaction as Sarries beat Chiefs in thriller

Welcome go The Independent's live coverage of today's Premiership final between Exeter Chiefs and Saracens, brought to you from pitchside at Twickenham Stadium.

It may be a repeat of last season's final, but there can be no arguing that the two strongest teams in the league have emerged top of the pile this season to give us the appropriate final.

Exeter will be out for revenge this afternoon following last season's 27-10 defeat, but after finishing top of the table Rob Baxter's side cannot be ruled out of the occasion and if they can produce their very best, they know they have enough to take the fight to Saracens.

However, Mark McCall's side have looked unbeateable of late after securing a third European Champions Cup three weeks ago against Leinster, and if they are able to hit top gear, they can expect to retain their title.

Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm, and we'll kick off all of our build-up live from Twickenham at 1:30pm ahead of the showcase event of the season. In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about the 2019 Premiership final.

Exeter look to have their fair share of fans here today, as we've seen plenty more Chiefs so far than Saracens supporters. The club famously travels in strong numbers, and the team have just arrived to a raucous reception.

The kits are in for the Premiership final, with Exeter as the home side set to wear their normal black jersey and Saracens in their bright red strip that took them to European glory in Newcastle.

Saracens have also arrived in their usual Nike warm-up kits, with Maro Itoje giving the giant image of the Premiership trophy inside the Twickenham tunnel little notice. Will he be lifting it come 5pm this evening?

Exeter's build-up to the final has been overshadowed somewhat by the 'boring' furore triggered by Northampton boss Chris Boyd.

The Saints director of rugby accused the Premiership's top-scorers of playing boring rugby that dominates via their forwards, following last weekend's semi-final victory.

But having put more than 80 points past the Saints in their last two games combined, it all sounds a bit rich from Boyd, as Sam Peters writes.

One of the big questions today is how fit can Saracens captain Brad Barritt be? The centre limped out of the semi-final win over Gloucester after just 28 minutes, and Saracens boss Mark McCall essentially wrote him off for the final, such is the timescale of recovery that a hamstring injury requires.

Yet when the teams were announced yesterday lunchtime, Barritt's name was incredibly included, yet you wonder how long the England international can last in the intensity of a Premiership final?

So how did the two teams get here?

First up it was Saracens who booked their place at Twickenham, with a comfortable 44-19 victory over Gloucester staking their claim and sending out a statement to their future opponents.

But Exeter's response was emphatic, as they brushed aside Northampton to reach a fourth consecutive Premiership final.

With half an hour to go until kick-off, let's take a close look at the teams this afternoon:

Exeter Chiefs: Jack Nowell; Alex Cuthbert, Henry Slade, Ollie Devoto, Tom O’Flaherty; Joe Simmonds, Nic White; Ben Moon, Jack Yeandle, Harry Williams; Dave Dennis, Jonny Hill; Dave Ewers, Don Armand, Matt Kvesic.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Alec Hepburn, Tomas Francis, Sam Skinner, Sam Simmonds, Jack Maunder, Gareth Steenson, Sam Hill.

Saracens: Alex Goode; Liam Williams, Alex Lozowski, Brad Barritt, Sean Maitland; Owen Farrell, Ben Spencer; Richard Barrington, Jamie George, Vincent Koch; Will Skelton, George Kruis; Maro Itoje, Jackson Wray, Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: Tom Woolstencroft, Ralph Adams-Hale, Christian Judge, Nick Isiekwe, Mike Rhodes, Richard Wigglesworth, Nick Tompkins, David Strettle.

Somewhat surprisingly in the era of injury after injury, both sides were able to name unchanged squads this week from the semi-final victories last weekend.

That Brad Barritt is fit to start - somehow - is detriment to Nick Tompkins' cause, whose chance to start the Premiership final is snatched away from him. The man who scored a hat-trick against Gloucester last week instead has to wait patiently on the bench.

For Exeter, there will be plenty of attention on one of their replacements in Sam Simmonds, with the back-row very much out of the England thinking at the moment following his horrendous knee injury earlier this season. With just this final and the four World Cup warm-up matches to prove himself, does he have enough time to get back into Eddie Jones' thinking?

Elsewhere, it'll be interesting to see where Jack Nowell crops up as he is deployed at full-back instead of wing, giving him the freedom to join there line where he sees fit and, as we've seen before, even join the pack.