The Saints and Sale go into tomorrow's game at the top of their respective pools. But with their rivals ready to pounce, both teams know that only a win will do in the race for a semi-final spot.

The travellers have received plenty of attention in the wake of last weekend's Heineken Cup action, but director of rugby Jim Mallinder said that all of the focus within the camp has been directed on the game at Edgeley Park, a venue where the Saints have never won.

"We were part of a superb occasion last Friday but now we have to get our feet back on the ground and concentrate on winning at Edgeley Park," the Saints boss said today. "We have gone well in the Anglo-Welsh Cup this season and we want that run to continue. Only one team can qualify from our pool into the semi-finals and we want that to be us. To be in that position we need to keep winning, but we will have our work cut out for us tomorrow.

"Like us Sale have had several players called up by England so we don't know what kind of team they will be putting out. But we do know that they will be extremely competitive. Last weekend's game was the first they have lost at home since early October and they are top of their pool and in contention for a semi-final spot themselves.

"It will be a tough game for us."

With Dylan Hartley away with England the captain's armband will be worn by Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe. There are two potential first team debutants on the bench, hooker Andy Long and Senior Academy forward Owen Giles.

There are a number of different ways supporters can follow the action from Edgeley Park. Matchday Live! will provide text tracking and match commentary from the BBC, while updates will be published every 10 minutes via the club's Twitter feed - www.twitter.com/SaintsRugby

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY SALE SHARKS
LV= Cup Round 3
Edgeley Park
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Kick off 7:45pm
15 Bruce Reihana
14 Chris Ashton
13 Joe Ansbro
12 Chris Mayor
11 Paul Diggin
10 Stephen Myler
9 Alan Dickens
1 Brian Mujati
2 Brett Sharman
3 Euan Murray
4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe (capt)
5 Juandre Kruger
6 Neil Best
7 Scott Gray
8 Mark Easter

Replacements
16 Andy Long
17 Soane Tonga'uiha
18 Alex Waller
19 Owen Giles
20 Roger Wilson
21 Lee Dickson
22 Barry Everitt
23 Nick Greenhalgh

Sale welcome back prop Jack Forster and flanker David Seymour to their full strength team to play the Saints.

Director of rugby Kingsley Jones says that the LV= Cup is a massive competition for his team.

"After the disappointment of going out of Europe last weekend, we have a good opportunity to try and make progress in the LV=Cup," he said. "We had a good win last time out against Leeds in November and I have selected my strongest available side for this game. Northampton will be buzzing after their great display in Ireland last week and they also had a good run in this competition last season. It should be a great game! We are looking forward to it."

SALE SHARKS TEAM TO PLAY NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
15 Nick Macleod
14 Ben Cohen
13 Jonny Kennedy
12 David Bishop
11 David Doherty
10 Charlie Hodgson
9 Richard Wigglesworth
1 Eifion Roberts
2 Marc Jones
3 Jack Forster
4 Dean Schofield
5 Sean Cox
6 Chris Jones
7 David Seymour
8 Sisa Koyamaibole

Replacements
16 Mahonri Schwalger
17 Gavin Kerr
18 Martin Halsall
19 James Gaskell
20 Carl Fearns
21 Chris Leck
22 Marika Vakacegu
23 Oriol Ripol