Exeter come into their penultimate home match of the season against Cardiff University, determined to right the wrongs of last Wednesday’s defeat to Cardiff Met and keep within touching distance of Leeds Beckett in second place.

Keith Fleming will be eager for his side to display the range of their attacking game as they seek a response to a performance which saw them struggle up front and fail to gain any momentum or front foot ball against a dominant Met defence.

Exeter line up with the same matchday 23 as last Wednesday, with three changes to the starting XV. George Strainge is rewarded for his impact off the bench at Cyncoed with a second Super Rugby start of the season, Will Cutbill switching to the bench. In the back-row, Albert Slade comes in for his first start since December, swapping roles with Cameron Bullard who will seek to make an impact when called upon. The only other change is on the wing, where Jordan Bond comes into the starting XV for Matt Blee, who takes his place amongst the replacements.

Exeter will hope that the additional pace around the park of Slade will create more attacking opportunities on a fast-paced 4G pitch, with Jordan Bond’s selection bringing additional dexterity to a backline that will be marshalled by the 10-12 axis of the league’s top points scorer Harry Bazalgette and arguably one of the form players in the league in the form of Joe Elderkin. Bazalgette himself will be seeking to break the 200-point barrier in Super Rugby this season, currently sitting 6 points short of the total.

With the obvious goal of a victory to keep in the hunt towards the top end of the table, Exeter will also be looking for a more composed performance on Wednesday, including a need for greater discipline and a fast, competitive start, having trailed Swansea by 10 points after just 15 minutes in their previous home fixture.

Richard Capstick, Sam Maunder and Lasha Jaiani all remain unavailable for Exeter, remaining in camp for England U20s and Georgia respectively, whilst Luke Mehson is still struggling with injury and unable to play.

After last weeks narrow 20-19 defeat to Welsh rivals Swansea, Cardiff will be determined to try and pick up any points that may be on offer, sitting just one place and one point above bottom of the table Northumbria. They make two changes to the starting XV, with Owain Preece replacing Tom Hoppe at inside centre, Hoppe dropping out of the matchday side. Ed Thompson also comes into the side at loosehead prop, replacing Cary Davies. It's on the bench where there are the biggest alterations, as Sam Starks, Cameron Lewis and Aaron Hughes are replaced by Sam Turner, Ben Edwards and Will Thompson as Cardiff seek a response to last week's defeat to Swansea.

This is the first of two matches in the final four rounds between the sides and a first meeting since last season’s dramatic 34-31 Championship quarter-final victory, which saw Harry Bazalgette score a penalty in the dying minutes, before a Cardiff penalty to take the game to extra-time dropped agonisingly wide for the visitors in a frantic final act.

With the wind and rain that has engulfed most of the country expected to lessen but still last into tomorrow, both teams will be expected to deal with the tricky, damp conditions with knockout seedings and relegation both on the line at the Rubber Crumb.

Kick-Off is at 1pm.

Exeter University Side vs Cardiff University:

Starting XV:
15. Charlie Davies, 14. Arthur Relton, 13. Harry Tarling, 12. Joe Elderkin, 11. Jordan Bond, 10. Harry Bazalgette, 9. Will Yarnell, 8. Paul Schroter (Capt), 7. Charlie Wright, 6. Albert Slade, 5. Alex Roper, 4. Jamie Yates, 3. Matt Johnson, 2. Harrison Fowke, 1. George Strainge

Replacements:
16. Luke Bury, 17. Will Cutbill, 18. Fin Richardson, 19. Frazier Kiff, 20. Cameron Bullard, 21. Pietro Di-Chio, 22. Francesco Scardamaglia, 23. Matt Blee

Cardiff University Side vs Exeter University:

Starting XV:
15. Huw Roberts, 14. George Thomas, 13. Charlie Dyde, 12. Owain Preece, 11. Marcus Ramage, 10. Ed Dunford, 9. Mikel Davies, 8. Greg Ramage, 7. Rory Sloane, 6. Ellis Thomas, 5. Griff Evans, 4. Charlie Stonehill, 3. Freddie Barnes, 2. Ben Chapman, 1. Ed Thompson

Replacements:
16. Sam Turner, 17. Ben Edwards, 18. Archie Davies, 19. Will Thompson, 20. Jacob Hopkins, 21. Josh Oakley, 22. Jamie Christy, 23. Joe Patterson

Venue: Rubber Crumb, Sports Park, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QN
Kick-Off: 13:00