It is another big weekend in the Gallagher Premiership as the 12 clubs play their last matches before European competition resumes.
Top-four hopefuls Sale Sharks and Harlequins get things underway on Friday evening, with a West Country derby and some key clashes at the top and bottom of the table among the highlights of the next three days.
Here we take a look at what to keep an eye on in those games...
Sharks and Quins adjust their sights
They may have little to play for when the European Champions Cup pool stages resume next week, but Sale Sharks and Harlequins are in a good position on the domestic front heading into Friday's clash at the AJ Bell Stadium.
A win for either side would lift them into the top three of the Premiership table for at least 24 hours, although both teams had their progress checked in the previous round of matches over the festive period.
Hosts Sale were unable to build on their impressive win over high-flying Northampton Saints before Christmas after being edged out 16-14 away to another of the semi-final hopefuls Bath, thanks in part to the kicking of the hosts' Rhys Priestland.
Harlequins, meanwhile, were held to a 30-30 draw against struggling Leicester Tigers in their annual Big Game at Twickenham, although head coach Paul Gustard's only change to the starting XV sees exciting back Gabriel Ibitoye return to the side.
"We were of course disappointed with not picking up more league points against Tigers at Big Game 12, but we dominated the fixture and over the last five or six weeks have been like the team we aspire to be," Gustard said.
The Sharks will have to do without World Cup winner Faf de Klerk and compatriot Coenie Oosthuizen due to injury, but the good news for director of rugby Steve Diamond is that the South African pair should not be sidelined for long.
The encounter sees two players reach appearance milestones for their clubs as well, with Byron McGuigan and Elia Elia playing their 50th games for Sale and Quins respectively.
Local rivals aim for derby delight
There are few fiercer contests than when two West Country clubs go head-to-head and it will be no different at Kingsholm on Saturday as Gloucester and Bath lock horns for the area's bragging rights, along with the small matter of Premiership points.
Added into the mix is the fact both are competing at the sharp end of the table so far this season, with Gloucester sitting third on points difference from another side from that part of the world, Bristol Bears, and Bath one point behind their two nearest and dearest neighbours in fifth.
The Cherry and Whites have lost just once at home since December 2018 - against champions Saracens. By contrast, Bath have come away victorious from seven of their last eight trips up the M5, including the 26-24 win in the Premiership Rugby Cup group stages back in October.
Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann is not getting caught up in the occasion though.
"Bath is a big local derby, we acknowledge that and we appreciate the history," Ackermann said. "But when we put on the jersey, we have to be good for 80 minutes regardless of who we play."
The hosts have made six changes to their team from the defeat at Northampton Saints last Saturday, with several of those down to injuries. Bath, meanwhile, recall England international Sam Underhill and Chris Cook to the starting line-up.
There is another derby taking place on Sunday as well, although this one is perhaps more purely down to geography rather than being allied to any long-standing tradition.
Northampton fans of a certain age will recall the days of feisty Midlands derbies with Coventry being an annual event on the fixture list, a rivalry which was briefly rekindled in the 2007/08 season following relegation to what is now the Championship.
But Wasps' decision to sever all links with London and relocate from High Wycombe to the Ricoh Arena in 2014 meant clashes with a team from the city would once again become a regular occurrence.
The teams go into Sunday's showdown in Coventry having endured contrasting seasons, with Saints just one point behind leaders Exeter Chiefs and Wasps languishing near the foot of the table. The hosts are going into the match on the back of 26-21 victory at Bristol last week, however.
"The scenes at the end of the game last weekend demonstrated how much it meant to the players," Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said. "They've got heart and team spirit and they want to do well for the jersey and for the club."
The match will see academy product Tom West make his first Premiership start for Wasps in the front row, while the return of skipper Alex Waller to the starting XV is one of four changes by Saints boss Chris Boyd.
Warriors on the march?
Worcester Warriors have been making steady, if somewhat unheralded, progress in the Premiership so far this season and go into Round 8 with the possibility of moving into the top four on Saturday.
To do so, however, they must overcome Saracens, with the defending champions seeking to rebound and claw more of their points deficit back after a 14-7 defeat in a fiery clash away to Exeter last Sunday.
However, Worcester director of rugby Alan Solomons believes his team are still below the level required to be among the top teams in the division after last week's battling 20-6 win at home to London Irish.
"To be a top-six side, we need to play better than that," Solomons said. "Against Sale and Exeter we have been a top-six side, but this is a strong competition and there is no easy game. Every side is well prepared, well coached."
The table-topping Chiefs head to London Irish on Sunday, with last season's Championship winners facing up to being without hooker Motu Matu'u for five weeks following his red card in last Saturday's defeat at Worcester.
The other match of the weekend features Leicester aiming to ease relegation fears when they host Bristol, having been boosted this week by England internationals Ellis Genge and George Ford signing new contracts.