Cohen will start the game in the No 11 shirt after he successfully came through last Saturday’s game without any further damage caused to his fractured right cheekbone. Cohen wore a small protective mask over the fracture site along with a scrum-cap at Sixways last week. The England wing suffered the injury against Narbonne last month.

Luke Myring also returns to the starting line-up after starting two matches at fly-half in the place of injured Carlos Spencer. However, this week, it will be his first home start and he will start the game at inside centre where injuries have put David Quinlan (hamstring) and Seamus Mallon (knee) out of action. Neither Andy Vilk nor Robbie Kydd is registered for this stage of the European Challenge Cup.

The only other change to the starting XV is the swap of Ben Lewitt from openside flanker to blindside, with Sam Harding coming in to wear the No 7 shirt. Last week’s No 6 Paul Tupai is also not registered to play in the European Challenge Cup where squad numbers are limited to 36 players.

Director of rugby Budge Pountney said: “There are a number of injuries and with the smaller European squad you cannot play the likes of Robbie Kydd. But the case is, we have Luke and he is an adaptable player and he will relish the chance to play in front of a home crowd.

“We are looking forward to this game. Despite the changes from the last time we played Bristol, they are a tough side and they have got strength in depth. We want to proceed in this competition and we want to keep winning.”

He added: “We want to get a home quarter-final, so we have got to make sure we finish at the top of the pool and get as many points as possible. That’s what we want to achieve.”

Brett Sturgess, Mark Soden and Darren Fox have also moved onto the bench along with last week’s starting wing John Rudd. Saints have had to opt for a forward heavy bench due to the amount of injuries among the squad’s backs.

Saturday’s home game, for which tickets are still available, also marks Tom Smith’s 100th game for the club following his debut against Gloucester in the 2001/02 season. He has scored five tries for the club and is now also a part of the coaching team.

Smith said: “I always hoped I would stay a while when I first arrived. When you come to a club like this, you don’t want to move on too quickly.

“There have been lots of good games, such as winning against Agen away and against Toulouse at home, but I am hoping the bigger days are ahead of us.”

Northampton Saints

15 BRUCE REIHANA (co-capt)
14 SEAN LAMONT
13 Jon Clarke
12 Luke Myring
11 BEN COHEN
10 CARLOS SPENCER
9 MARK ROBINSON
1 TOM SMITH
2 STEVE THOMPSON (co-capt)
3 Chris Budgen
4 Damien Browne
5 Matt Lord
6 Ben Lewitt
7 SAM HARDING
8 Daniel Browne

16 Dylan Hartley
17 Brett Sturgess
18 DAVID GERARD
19 Darren Fox
20 Mark Soden
21 Johnny Howard
22 John Rudd