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Inevitably at this time of year, Premiership clubs often have to make do without their international stars.

But, fear not, there are still a few on show this evening, with Northampton Saints able to name fly-half Stephen Myler and flanker Calum Clark after their omissions from England's squad to face Italy.

Phil Dowson, who leaves for Worcester in the summer, captains the side.

London Irish hooker David Paice returns from suspension, and he is joined in the front row by Tom Court and Halani Aulika.

Fly-half Shane Geraghty starts against his former club in a half-back partnership with Scott Steele.

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But that's quite enough about the rest of the weekend, it's time to get cracking with tonight's rugby union.

Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill will hand a first Premiership start to centre George Catchpole this evening, after his impressive showing in the LV= Cup.

Vereniki Goneva returns on the wing as Catchpole partners Seremaia Bai in midfield, while Freddie Burns starts at fly-half against his former club.

Gloucester's Bill Meakes, Dan Robson and Dan Murphy are the only three players to retain their place from last week's win over Harlequins.

Perhaps most notably, Charlie Sharples returns at full-back after recovering from a leg injury.

And in the final match of round 14, Wasps take on Harlequins at the Ricoh Arena.

Wasps have been going along quite nicely in the Premiership since their move to Coventry, winning three of their last four matches home and away and rising to fourth in the standings.

However, if they are to stick around in the play-off spots, this is the kind of match they'll want to be winning.

Harlequins may be down in seventh but, having finished in the top four in each of the last three seasons, going on to lift the trophy in 2012, they've very much been there, done that and worn the 'we are the champions' T-shirt.

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Sale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond says his side "don't want a banana skin" when they visit struggling London Welsh on Sunday.

In truth, when I say struggling, that might be downplaying it a little bit - Justin Burnell's Exiles have lost 13 out of 13 in the Premiership and, having already accumulated a points difference of -467, are in serious danger of being relegated with the worst record in the history of the top flight.

This one should be pretty straightforward for Sharks then, right? Not according to Diamond.

"They're at home, fighting for their lives and they've got a good set of lads who are proud," he told BBC Radio Manchester. "I don't think they're a side to get over-ran these days. We've got to go down and make sure we're accurate."

Ah, yes, just how will the blue, black and whites cope? It must be a real chore having to settle for a midfield containing cross-code stars Sam Burgess and Kyle Eastmond, plus England wing Semesa Rokoduguni, with South Africa's Francois Louw in the back row.

Either way, director of rugby Mike Ford did tell BBC Radio Bristol that it is "a massive game".

He said: "They're third, we're second. A win for them will bring them closer to us - but a win for us will take us further ahead."

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The two-time table-toppers against the young pretenders - Saracens versus Bath at Allianz Park looks every inch the stand-out Premiership fixture of the weekend.

Mark McCall's Sarries, who have ended each of the last two campaigns at the top of the standings, have not quite been their ruthless selves this season, losing four of their 13 league matches and languishing down in third, nine points adrift of leaders Northampton.

Bath, meanwhile, may have been out of the play-off picture since 2010, but under Mike Ford they at long last look like they may just add to their six top-flight titles, up in second and hot on the heels of Saints.

However, with George Ford, Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson and Dave Attwood all away with England, how will they manage without their crop of up-and-coming international stars?

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In Saturday's only Premiership showdown, Exeter Chiefs host Newcastle Falcons at Sandy Park.

It's not been the easiest of times for Rob Baxter's side, who started the season like a train but now sit in fifth having not won in the league since humbling Saracens back in November.

All that said, Baxter's focus has not wavered - he remains determined to get back into the European Champions Cup.

"As I said at the start of the season, the Premiership is our focus," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon. "We want to get back into the top-flight European competition. That's very important for us as a club going forwards."

Before we turn our attentions fully towards tonight's two matches, we're going to have a little look forward to the rest of the weekend's action.

And, of course, as it's been a little while since the last set of Premiership fixtures, it'll do us no harm whatsoever to remind ourselves what's what with the league table...

And don't forget, you can also get in touch with us to discuss tonight's Premiership action by using #bbcrugby on Twitter.

Can Gloucester make a late charge up the table? Will Northampton cling on to top spot? And can London Irish have a strong finish to the season, despite new boss Tom Coventry not arriving until the autumn?

So many questions, so little time.

Leicester Tigers may well have been one of the dominant forces in English rugby during the last decade, but currently languishing down in sixth they'll need a strong finish to the season if they're going to secure a record 11th Premiership title.

So we're asking you - will Leicester Tigers finish in the top four this season?

The vote, which you can find on the right-hand side of the page (desktop) or via the tab at the top (mobile and tablet), will close at 20:15 GMT and you can click here to read our voting terms and conditions.

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We have a couple of fixtures from English rugby's top flight to get our teeth stuck into tonight, with Leicester Tigers hosting Gloucester at Welford Road and London Irish paying table-topping Northampton Saints a visit.

We'll also be looking ahead to the rest of the weekend's domestic matches - and we'd quite like to know whether or not you think the Premiership's most successful side may just be in danger of seeing their incredible run come to an end...

So, you quite enjoyed last weekend's rugby union offering, did you?

The eye-catching tries...

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The shoulder-shuddering hits...

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And the heart-stopping finishes...

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Well, there's plenty more where that came from, and you needn't wait for the Six Nations to return tomorrow.

I bring good news - after a four-week absence, the Premiership is back!