Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears will be looking to get their seasons off to a positive start, as they face off at the CorpAcq Stadium on Saturday evening.
Both sides had disappointing seasons in the Prem last campaign, with neither side ever cementing a proper challenge for the play-off places.
Things got so bad for Sale that, at one point, it looked as if they could miss out on qualification for the Champions Cup, as they drifted closer to the bottom two places in the league.
The Sharks have responded well to last campaign's shortcomings though, making a number of top-class, high profile acquisitions this summer.
New signing Courtney Lawes is set to start his first match as a Sale Sharks player this weekend, alongside Jacques Vermeulen and Tom Curry in the back row, featuring alongside the latter for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi final.
Captain Ernst van Rhyn partners Ben Bamber in the second row, behind a front row featuring Luke Cowan-Dickie and Asher Opoku-Fordjour.
Xavier Roe partners the returning George Ford at half back, with Joe Marchant and Rekeiti Ma'asi-White making up the centre pairing.
Joe Carpenter is named at full back, joined in the back three by Tom O'Flaherty and Aaron Reed. New signings Christ Tshiunza, Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis and Alex Lozowski are named to start from the bench.
Louis Rees-Zammit returns to his favoured wing position for the return of the new season, joined in the Bears' back three by Tom Jordan and Gabriel Ibitoye.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg joins James Williams in the centre of the park, with AJ MacGinty and Harry Randall pulling the strings from half back.
Ellis Genge, Gabriel Oghre and George Kloska make up the front row, with Pedro Rubiolo joining Joe Batley as the lock pairing, ahead of Joe Owen, Luka Ivanishvili and captain Fitz Harding, who complete the pack.
Sale Sharks team news
Starting XV: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom O’Flaherty, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Xavier Roe; 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Jacques Vermeulen.
Substitutes: 16. Nathan Jibulu, 17. Nicky Smith, 18. Tomas Francis, 19. Christ Tshiunza, 20. Sam Dugdale, 21. Gus Warr, 22. Alex Lozowski, 23. Elia Cankaivata.
Bristol Bears team news
Starting XV: 15. Tom Jordan, 14. Louis Rees-Zammit, 13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12. James Williams, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Harry Randall; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. George Kloska, 4. Pedro Rubiolo, 5. Joe Batley, 6. Joe Owen, 7. Luka Ivanishvili, 8. Fitz Harding (c).
Substitutes: 16. Tomas Gwilliam, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. Jimmy Halliwell, 19. George Taylor, 20. Steven Luatua, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. Max Pepper, 23. Benjamin Grondona.
