Thursday 30 November 2017 16:16, UK
England's Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes will boost struggling Northampton this weekend after returning from international duty.
Despite Saints' positive start to the season they have slipped to seventh in the Aviva Premiership following four straight defeats, most recently falling to Sale Sharks 18-15 as England claimed victory against Samoa in their final autumn Test on Saturday.
Hartley and Lawes will now go straight back into the squad to play Newcastle on Friday, providing extra concern for the Falcons.
Dean Richards, Newcastle's director of rugby, said: "There are no easy games in the Aviva Premiership and Northampton will be another big challenge.
"They'll be buoyed by the fact they're getting the England captain back in Dylan Hartley and guys like Courtney Lawes.
"They'll be a difficult nut to crack but we beat them down there last season, so it holds no fears for us in that sense.
"You go through blips, highs and lows during a season, and at this moment in time we haven't been performing as strongly as we were earlier on.
"Defensively we have allowed ourselves to slip and in attack we've not been scoring the tries, so we just need to pick it up."
Northampton will also be able to call on Api Ratuniyarawa, Piers Francis and Ahsee Tuala - who are also returning from international duty while Rob Horne has served his one-match ban after picking up a red card against Worcester.
The Falcons, who beat Saints on two occasions last season, will travel to Franklin's Gardens in an attempt to recreate last season's success.
Newcastle, who currently sit in ninth, will also make a number of changes to their starting XV.
Vereniki Goneva, Josh Matavesi, Chris Harris, Sonatane Takulua, Kyle Cooper, Calum Green and Gary Graham will all be available following the autumn internationals.
Richards added: "It's great to have our own international boys back.
"We're delighted to have that bigger pool to choose from and I always look forward to game day."
