Race to the play-offs: Every Premiership club's chances of finishing in the Top 4 this weekend

FIXTURES - PREMIERSHIP ROUND 18 (ALL KO TIMES 15:05)

Bristol Bears vs Harlequins (Ashton Gate) / Gloucester Rugby vs Northampton Saints (Kingsholm)

In this article, we will survey the current landscape of the Premiership league table, and review each club's chances of making the top four. One club has already qualified for a place in the play-offs, with five teams all eligible for the remaining three spots that are still up for grabs.

Sitting proudly at the top of the tree are Bath Rugby, as the blue, black and whites have enjoyed an incredible season in the Gallagher Premiership. Bath confirmed their place in the play offs with three rounds to go, as 14 wins in 17 rounds sits them comfortably in poll position. Johann van Graan's men sit 15 points clear of second-placed Leicester Tigers, with the Somerset side confirmed for a home semi-final.

Bath are in pursuit of a history making treble this year, having already picked up the Premiership Rugby Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup this season. The latest outing for the Rec faithful saw them hand Lyon an emphatic defeat in the Challenge Cup Final, with a solid travelling support witnessing the triumph in Cardiff's Principality Stadium. However, a fallout of the fixture was Sam Underhill's citation, with the back row now banned for four weeks following a dangerous tackle on Davit Niniashvilli. The England man will play no part in the play-offs, yet Bath's significant back row depth should handle the absence.

BRISTOL BEARS: MUST WIN TO QUALIFY (4TH)

Bristol are in the preferrable position of controlling their own destiny, as one of the teams that is not reliant on other fixtures. However, Pat Lam's side have endured a yo-yoing run of recent form, as following three consecutive Premiership defeats, the Bears racked up a significant derby win over league leaders Bath. The form has once again slipped following defeat to Sale Sharks in the latest round, with the Bears sat precariously close to missing out on the top four should they lose this weekend.

Bristol are just two points ahead of their West Country rivals Gloucester, and the Cherry and Whites will have bonus points on their mind with the chase kicking into full-flight. Bristol take on Harlequins, in what will be an enigmatic clash between two of the Premiership's most entertaining clubs, however, Lam could well batten down the hatches to ensure a win, in a fixture that in previous meetings has better resembled an end-to-end basketball style of scoring than a methodical match-up.

EXETER CHIEFS: UNABLE TO QUALIFY (9TH)

It's certainly been a season to forget for the Chiefs, who can't make a dent on any of the Premiership permutations come the final weekend of the season. With a reshuffled coaching staff following the departures of Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher, it's been an inconsistent feel around Sandy Park, with all eyes turning to a fresh start ahead of the new campaign.

Whilst Exeter are by no means in danger of relegation, the Chiefs are crawling across the finish line in what has been their worst season in the top flight. Exeter have not finished so low down the table since they were promoted into the league in 2010, with six defeats on the bounce setting the tone for an underwhelming season. The Chiefs then suffered their heaviest ever home defeat to the would-be Champions Cup winners Bordeaux-Begles, with the 69-17 defeat casting a bleak shadow over Devon. It's certainly a matter of onwards and upwards for the 2025/26 season for the Chiefs.

GLOUCESTER RUGBY: MUST WIN AND NEED FAVOURABLE RESULTS (5TH)

Keeping it in the West Country, Gloucester are not entirely the masters of their own destiny, yet that won't stop George Skivington's men from throwing caution to the wind this weekend. Gloucester need to beat Northampton Saints to be in with a chance of breaking into the top four, and a bonus point win would only benefit their efforts for a dramatic photo finish into the play-offs.

As mentioned earlier, Bristol sit just two points ahead of the Cherry and Whites, with a Gloucester win and a Bristol lose swapping the two South West rivals around in their league standings. Gloucester and Bristol fans will have one eye on their own match and the other on that of their noisy neighbours efforts, in the hopes that they see their side through to the top four. Gloucester are set for a clash with Northampton, and after losing the Champions Cup Final, the defending Premiership champions would love to make themselves feel better by ruining Gloucester's play-off dreams.

It's been an off season for the men in the famous quarters, as Harlequins will slump through to the end of the Premiership season a considerable drift away from their best. It's not the way that the Stoop faithful would have wanted to wave goodbye to their legendary scrum half Danny Care, as the halfback will hang up his boots at the end of the season.

Six points away from the play offs, such a finishing post would not necessarily be considered an abject disappointment in a regular Premiership season. However, this season has been ultra-competitive, with wins and losses evenly traded between the sides ranked second to sixth. Harlequins miss out on the play-offs given the tightness of the league standings, and they will leave it all on the line for their season finale against Bristol Bears and upset the best laid plans of Pat Lam's side.

LEICESTER TIGERS: 1 POINT REQUIRED (2ND)

Predicted to follow Bath into the play-offs with a 99% chance from the official bookmakers stand-point, Leicester need to pick up just one point from their trip to the North East this weekend. Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika is not taking any chances with what should be a routine win for his side, and emphasised the importance of the trip to Kingston Park, labelling the fixture as 'knock out footie' before the play-offs even get underway.

Leicester have an added emotional drive behind them, with the trio of Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and Mike Brown all set for retirement come the season end. Throw in Julian Montoya and Handre Pollard's exits from Welford Road, and there are plenty of top names that would love to end their time as a Tiger with a Premiership winners medal. Leicester would qualify for the top four even if they pick up a losing bonus point, but Cheika's men will have all five points on their mind as they trek it up to Kingston Park, and secure a semi-final back home in the East Midlands.

The potential party spoilers for Leicester's departing legends, an unexpected upset win for the Falcons would end the Tigers retirement tour before it even begun. Should the Falcons deny Leicester a single league table point from their trip, then Youngs, Cole and Brown will all end their playing days upon the unforgiving astroturf of Kingston Park.

The Falcons have had another difficult year in the Premiership, and round-off the table in 10th place. However, Newcastle were able to record a couple of wins this season, with Premiership victories over Exeter Chiefs and Saracens being highlights of their season. Steve Diamond also guided the Falcons to that winning feeling in the Premiership Rugby Cup and in their Challenge Cup campaigns, with Newcastle hopeful for another year of building to commence in the coming months.

It's been a stark contrast of Premiership seasons for Northampton Saints, as the 'shoe army' are out of the running for the play-offs, after lifting the iconic trophy at Twickenham just 12 months prior. The defending Premiership title holders will lose their crown in a matter of weeks, having also just finished a tough second-best in the recent Champions Cup Final to a star-studded Bordeaux-Begles side. Northampton would have vengeance on their mind, and Gloucester are the side that stands in their way.

With Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell, Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock called up for the Lions tour, Andy Farrell's incoming tourists would view this trip to Kingsholm as an ideal tune-up ahead of the Test against Argentina on June 20th. The Saints also boast an array of England hopefuls, who will be eyeing up a trip of their own to the land of Los Pumas this Summer. The likes of Alex Coles, Fraser Dingwall and a freshly returned Ollie Sleightholme will be out to prove themselves for a place upon Steve Borthwick's squad.

Following Leicester Tigers and Bristol Bears as a side that is in control of their own play-off fate, Sale need two points from their upcoming trip to Devon in order to secure the top four. This can come as a losing bonus point and a try-scoring bonus point, as such bizarre circumstances would see Sale progress even after a defeat to the Chiefs on the final day of the season.

However, you would think better than to expect Alex Sanderson's to look for any short-cuts to the play-off places. Victory will firmly be the task at hand for the Sharks, who returned to winning form in the latest round of the Premiership against the play-off chasing counterparts Bristol Bears for a 41-27 win. Sale have made the Salford Community Stadium a fortress this season, and a home semi-final would certainly get the shark fins up as they hunt down their first Premiership title since 2006.

Closing off our permutations list are Saracens, with the Londoners still in the running for the play-offs but they would need fortune to favour them. The StoneX faithful have endured an uncharacteristic run in the latest Premiership Rugby season, with their current sixth placed standing a reflection of their mixed bag of form. Sarries went all-out attack on Newcastle Falcons for a 75-28 hammering, before coming unstuck by Tarek Haffar's dramatic winning try as Northampton snatched a 28-24 win in Sarries' latest outing.

With six league titles and four runners-up medals since the start of the Premiership era, Saracens are by no means newcomers to the play-offs. However, if the North Londoners want to break into the top four with a dramatic final push, Mark McCall's men would need a significant bonus point win over the league leaders Bath, and rely on defeats for Gloucester, as well as for either Bristol or Sale.