Depleted Wasps looking to make up for Bath defeat but West Country side boosted by return of quartet

Wasps will face a difficult ask despite recalling flanker James Haskell after resting the England international last week when they take on a Bath side bolstered by the return of four key players for this Friday’s clash at the Recreation Ground.

Having recovered from a poor start to the season due to a number of injuries to key players, Wasps once again find their ranks depleted, with Elliot Daly and Nathan Hughes joined on the injury list by centre Jimmy Gopperth and wing Josh Bassett until March at the earliest. With that in mind, Wasps director of rugby Dai Young left Haskell out of the 49-24 victory over Gloucester last weekend, keeping an eye on this Friday’s encounter with fifth-placed Bath and next week’s visit of Saracens to the Ricoh Arena.

"The next two games are massive for us," Young said on Thursday. "Coming into this block of three league games, we said if we could get three good results then we will be sitting pretty in the top four which will take a bit of pressure off us.

"But if we don't, it will put a bit of pressure on us and go right to the wire, so these are important games."

Gloucester are just a point behind Wasps while Bath can overtake them if they win on Friday with a bonus point and prevent the Coventry outfit from scoring one of their own. With the Saracens match the final Premiership game before the resumption of European rugby and the start of the Six Nations, the next 10 days will go a long way to defining how the book-end of the domestic campaign will play out.

But even though Bath will harbour fond memories of October’s 25-9 victory at Wasps, Young believes his side have momentum behind them to reverse that result at The Rec – even without three of his key players.

"Bath did a job on us at the Ricoh (Arena), but we are better now than we were then, since we have evolved as a team," he said. "But you have to give them credit, as they were the better team on the day, so it is up to us to go and reverse that result."

It will prove a difficult task given that Bath are able to recall four key players in Wales lock Luke Charteris, England centre Jonathan Joseph and – most importantly – front-row forwards Beno Obano and Tom Dunn, who together with tighthead prop Max Lahiff took the Toulon front-row to school during this month’s European double-header.

Lahiff is left among the replacements as Henry Thomas starts alongside loosehead prop Obano and hooker Dunn, who has already spent time with Eddie Jones’ England squad after showing his potential at Bath, while one of Jones’s “apprentices” in Zach Mercer starts at No 8. There is also an intriguing battle in the back three as England’s Anthony Watson starts at full-back for Bath, with brother Marcus starting on the wing for Wasps.

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However, rather than draw in the return of his key quartet, Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder was more focused on seeing a reaction from his side after last weekend’s surprise defeat by Sale Sharks.

"It was a poor performance and we realise and recognise that, but we have a short turnaround so we have a chance to right those wrongs straight away," Blackadder said, with Bath shipping four unanswered tries in a 32-9 defeat at the AJ Bell Stadium.

"We need to do that and this team has the character and no lack of motivation to show what we can do."

Bath: A Watson; Jack Wilson, Joseph, James Wilson, Brew; Priestland, Fotuali’i; Obano, Dunn, Thomas; Ewels, Charteris; Garvey, Grant, Mercer.

Replacements: Van Vuuren, Noguera, Lahiff, Stooke, Phillips, Cook, Burns, Atkins.

Wasps: Le Roux; Wade, De Jongh, Eastmond, M Watson; Cipriani, Robson; McIntyre, Cruse, Cooper-Wooley; Launchbury, Myall; Haskell, Young, Carr.

Replacements: Johnson, Harris, Moore, Gaskell, Thompson, Simpson, Miller, Lovobalavu.