Gloucester keep faith with the majority of the side that started against London Irish last weekend, making five changes as they return to Aviva Premiership action against Saracens on Friday evening (kick off 7:45pm).

The majority of the changes are in the pack where Josh Hohneck, Tom Savage, Freddie Clarke and Ruan Ackermann come in for Val Rapava Ruskin, Jeremy Thrush, Jake Polledri and Jacob Rowan respectively.

The one change in the backs sees Andy Symons return to the midfield alongside Billy Twelvetrees with Henry Trinder moving to the wing.

This fixture has produced some titanic tussles in recent seasons and, previewing the game this week, head coach Johan Ackermann admitted that Saracens will pose the toughest of challenges.

“The reality is that they are the best side in this competition, arguably one of the best in Europe. So, if you ever want to be tested, they will do that. It’s going to be a massive challenge.

“I suppose it’s a good time to play them if there’s ever a good time. But we just heard that they’re going to get Isiekwe, Kruis and Lozowski back. Those are internationals returning and there are others they can rely on – Barritt, Brits, Burger, the list goes on.

“They’ve developed a system, a belief over the last few years. It doesn’t matter who is playing, you know you have to be at your best.

“But as I’ve said from day one, it’s about us and focusing on our style of play, our standards, our individual and team responsibilities. We want to show we can play at this level.

“The reality is that we’re at home, we always said we wanted to make it tough for sides when they come to Kingsholm, that you don’t just pitch up and win here. To do that we have to play to the best of our ability and give a good account of ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Sean Maitland returns to the Saracens starting line-up, after recovering from an ankle injury to take his place in the back-three alongside Alex Goode (full-back) and Chris Wyles (left wing).

Brad Barritt will skipper the side from inside centre, with Nick Tompkins named alongside him in the Sarries midfield. Returning England man Alex Lozowski is named at fly-half and he will partner Richard Wigglesworth in the halves.

Up front, Richard Barrington, Schalk Brits and Juan Figallo make up the Sarries front-row, with Will Skelton starting his first Premiership game of the season alongside another returning England player, George Kruis, at lock.

In the back-row, Calum Clark is named at blindside flanker, with Schalk Burger named on the opposite flank – Jackson Wray packs down at No8.

On the bench, Les Blues hooker Christopher Tolofua returns from international duty against the All Blacks to take his place alongside Hayden Thompson-Stringer and Vincent Koch as the front-row replacements.

Nick Isiekwe returns from England training to take his place on the bench, with Joel Conlon the back-row cover. Ben Spencer, Marcelo Bosch and Nathan Earle are the half-back and backs cover.

Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 Ollie Thorley, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Andy Symons, 11 Henry Trinder; 10 Billy Burns, 9 Willi Heinz (capt), 1 Josh Hohneck, 2 Richard Hibbard, 3 John Afoa, 4 Tom Savage, 5 Ed Slater, 6 Freddie Clarke, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 8 Ruan Ackermann. Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Henry Purdy. Unavailable for selection: Fraser Balmain, Tom Denton, Mariano Galarza, David Halaifonua, Tom Marshall, Motu Matu’u, Ben Morgan, Ross Moriarty, Matt Scott, Charlie Sharples, Owen Williams, Jason Woodward.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 1 Richard Barrington, 2 Schalk Brits,
3 Juan Figallo, 4 Will Skelton, 5 George Kruis, 6 Calum Clark, 7 Schalk Burger,
8 Jackson Wray. Replacements: Christopher Tolofua, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Joel Conlon, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Nathan Earle.