Gloucester Rugby vs Newcastle Falcons Odds and Picks

• Newcastle Falcons are 1.5-point home favorites over Gloucester in Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership Rugby match
• The Falcons (3-1-0) sit fifth overall in the table
• Gloucester (1-4-0) is at the bottom of the table, but has won two straight matches from Newcastle

Newly-promoted Newcastle Falcons will look to continue their run of good form to start the England Premiership Rugby season when they play host to out-of-sorts Gloucester on Saturday.

Up from the Championship, the Falcons are off to a 3-1-0 start to the campaign. They come into this match off their first defeat of the season, a 29-17 setback to the Bristol Bears on New Year’s Day.

Gloucester (1-4-0) may be at the bottom of the table, but they haven’t been performing like bottom feeders. The Cherry and Whites have lost two in a row. However, the average margin of defeat was only 5.5 points.

Surprisingly, Newcastle is just a 1.5-point favorite at home over visiting Gloucester.

Gloucester vs Newcastle Falcons Rugby Premiership Odds

Odds taken Jan. 8th at DraftKings.

Kickoff for Saturday’s match at Kingston Park is 9am EST. Weather could prove a factor in the outcome. Snow and ice and below-zero temperatures are in the forecast.

Slater Suspended For Gloucester

Gloucester will take the pitch minus veteran lock Ed Slater. Slater was suspended for four matches after being charged with dangerous play at a ruck or maul in Gloucester’s last match, a 22-19 loss to the Sale Sharks.

Another difficult result to take, regardless of agreement or disagreement on the decisions made, we have to look at ourselves as players first. Still a long way to go and plenty of games left, this group will come good and we will prove some people wrong. Stick with us. Thanks.

— Ed Slater (@edslater) January 3, 2021

In an incident that took place early in the second half of Gloucester’s home defeat, Slater, 32, was cited for making contact with the head of Sale hooker Akker van der Merwe with a trailing right arm.

Along with Saturday’s match, he will also be out of action for a Premiership meeting with Northampton, as well as Champions Cup matches at Ulster and against Lyon.

Gloucester Making Changes

Gloucester is shuffing the deck with its side for the Newcastle match. Joe Simpson, Matias Alemanno and Matt Garvey will all come into the starting 15.

🍒 TEAM NEWS

🔙 Simpson returns
6️⃣ Craig moves to flanker
🇦🇷 Carreras set to debut from the bench

𝙏𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝. ❄️

Team sheet proudly sponsored by @BPE_Solicitors #NEWvGLO

— Gloucester Rugby 🍒 (@gloucesterrugby) January 8, 2021

Meanwhile, Argentine international wing/full-back Santiago Carreras is poised to make his Cherry and White debut off the bench. He signed a contract with Gloucester for the remainder of the season in December.

Garvey and Alemanno will give Gloucester an entirely new look in the second row, with Alex Craig sliding over to flanker. Scrum half Simpson is making his first start in four matches.

Three Newcomers For Newcastle

The Falcons are also making three changes to the side that lost to Bristol. Scottish international back row forward Gary Graham is drawing back into the starting 15.

TEAM NEWS: Gary Graham returns for Newcastle Falcons tomorrow as they host @gloucesterrugby in Gallagher Premiership action https://t.co/Ygu8ntOWki pic.twitter.com/kfLevgAIN1

— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) January 8, 2021

Tom Penny is moving to to full-back, while Brett Connon is named at fly-half and Toby Flood is the choice at inside centre.

Expect A Close Encounter

Gloucester led Sale right up until the final two minutes of their match last week. Previously, Gloucester fell 28-20 to the top of the table Exeter Chiefs.

It’s likely that Gloucester aren’t as bad a side as their record would indicate. The question to be answered is whether the Falcons are as strong as their slate would seem to show.

It’s on! 😅

Shall we bring some shovels? ⛄️

— Gloucester Rugby 🍒 (@gloucesterrugby) January 8, 2021

Victories over Sale, Wasps and Bath, three of the top five sides in last season’s standings, would appear to indicate that Newcastle is indeed the real deal.

Anticipate a close match, with the Falcons finding a way to push across enough points to earn another victory and provide more heartbreak for Gloucester.

Pick: Newcastle Falcons -1.5 (-121).