Preview: Harlequins v Leeds

Leeds are the opposition this weekend when Harlequins will be desperate for a much needed win in the Aviva Premiership in another Sunday fixture. Quins' league record after 8 rounds is looking decidedly average, although the visitors have lost all of their league games so far and sit uncomfortably distant at the bottom of the table.

Many thought Leeds would continue the excellent progress they made in the second half of last season, which saw them improve from 1 win from the first 10 rounds to 6 wins in the last 12 games. It was quite a remarkable achievement considering their squad had been decimated the year before when something like only 7 senior squad players remained with them after relegation. Director of Rugby Andy Key and Head Coach Neil Back earned a huge amount of respect for putting together a squad of relatively unknown players, augmented by the addition of some experienced and wily old veterans combined with their usual raft of home-grown youngsters, and fighting their way out of trouble with some very impressive wins against the likes of Saracens, Wasps, and London Irish.

And so it's somewhat of a surprise that they have struggled so much this time round, although perhaps they are not as well suited to, and haven't yet adapted to, the new law interpretations at the breakdown and the wealth of possession that has followed. Although Leeds have named an unchanged side from the one that lost 15 – 9 away to Exeter last week, they are missing some key players, notably the England internationals Hendre Fourie and Steve Thompson, along with Luther Burrell, Mike MacDonald and Andy Titterell.

Harlequins are able to field a mostly first choice VX with the most notable absentees being Nick Easter and Danny Care who join Fourie and Thompson in the England squad. First choice wingers Ugo Monye and Gonzalo Camacho are still unavailable – the former recovering from injury and the latter on duty with Argentina despite not featuring in this weekend's fixture against Ireland.

Joe Marler returns to the starting line-up and features in a front row containing Joe Gray and James Johnston – arguably Quins' best trio of fat-necked fatties this season, although Ceri Jones played particularly well against Leicester. Much as Marler regularly gets the plaudits, and deservedly so, it may be that Johnston is the key man in the Harlequins scrum. Even if there are one or two questions about his technique his sheer size and strength create a powerful platform, and the scrum rarely struggles when he's occupying the tighthead position. There can surely be no arguments this week against starting with locks Vallejos and Robson, as Quins will surely look to move the ball around, and Leeds for that matter, at every available opportunity. Tom Guest will be expected to continue his excellent form that saw him shred the Tigers defence last week, and a little more discipline from skipper Chris Robshaw wouldn't go amiss. One thing that hasn’t suffered in his new role as captain is Robshaw's superb defence, with his clamp-like tackling – only 2 missed from 95 in the AP so far.

Ollie Smith and Jordan Turner-Hall once again feature in the centre, and while Smith's defence is very good we do seem to miss George Lowe's attacking prowess, and once more Lowe starts on the wing. Most of the bench will no doubt see some decent action, although if Quins struggle to any degree we may not see Moore and Clegg feature.

Quins will have been kicking themselves all week for failing to make the most of their chances away at Leicester last weekend. In a game that saw the away side make all the play in the first half they were undone by an inability to finish 2 gilt-edged try scoring opportunities in the first half, and the boot of Billy Twelvetrees. The lack of an away win in the league for so long continues to be a worry, and home advantage on Sunday at least gives the club a perfect opportunity to stay in touch with the top half of the table. For a team that tries to play a fast-paced and adventurous style of rugby a return of 14 tries from 8 games is disappointing.  Having said that, it's probably more satisfying that their defence has been far better than last season and only Gloucester have leaked fewer tries – defence is surely higher up the agenda of improvements required when looking at  last year's disappointments. The try scoring will probably manifest itself at some point this season as Quins are certainly creating plenty of opportunities, and have done so against some of the best teams in the league.

The oft repeated cliché that there are no easy games in the league should not prevent us from expecting a decent win. I think the disappointment of last week's game will ensure Harlequins come out with the right attitude and intent, and unless Leeds make a big improvement themselves this could be an uncomfortable match for them. However, with each game that passes, Leeds get closer to that first cherished win, and upsets occur quite regularly in the Premiership. Come on Quins!