Warriors Assistant Head Coach Nigel Redman believes Sunday’s LV= Cup clash against London Wasps will be different to the Aviva Premiership game the two sides played out last month.
Warriors travelled to Adams Park on the first weekend of October and went down 10-6 in a frustrating encounter.
After going behind early in the game, a penalty and drop goal from Andy Goode narrowed the scoreline but, despite late pressure from the Sixways side, Wasps held on for victory.
With that result still fresh in the players’ minds, Redman is confident that this weekend’s match will be less scrappy.
He said: “I’m sure Sunday’s game will be a lot different to the match we played in the league. We’ll have players in the side who are pressing for positions and I’m sure Wasps will also give starts to some of their squad players.
“We’ll have a lot of players who will want to put our first-choice players under more pressure and the game gives them a great opportunity to do that.”
Redman admitted he was impressed with Warriors’ second-half performance against Llanelli Scarlets last weekend as the side opened their LV= Cup campaign with a bonus-point victory.
He continued: “Scarlets gave us a good physical test defensively at the breakdown and in the scrum with their forward players.
“I felt we played with more accuracy in the second-half and we scored four very good tries. So there were a lot of pluses.”
With Warriors’ next Aviva Premiership match coming just five days after Sunday’s encounter, Redman also recognises the importance of ensuring players are fresh for their return to league action.
He added: “It’s a short turnaround between the Wasps and Saracens matches and these games, whether they’re in the LV= Cup, Amlin Challenge Cup or Aviva Premiership, are brutal. They are big men against big men and a five-day turnaround is going to be challenging.
“There may be one or two players who play against Wasps and then play against Saracens. But we have fit players, they’re able and they’re really enjoying our style of play so their enthusiasm will help.”
“We’ll have a lot of players who will want to put our first-choice players under more pressure and the game gives them a great opportunity to do that.”