Head coach Richard Cockerill believes his Leicester Tigers side may have a mental edge over bitter local rivals Northampton Saints on Saturday.

Both sides will be missing players to the England set-up for the big Guinness Premiership match-up at Welford Road.

Leicester are likely to be without George Chuter, Louis Deacon, Lewis Moody, Tom Croft, Jordan Crane and Dan Hipkiss.

Tigers have been used to playing without star players all season as injuries have kept some big names on the sidelines.

Yet Cockerill believes the visitors might be fazed by taking the pitch without some of their most consistent performers like lock Courtney Lawes, fly-half Shane Geraghty and skipper and hooker Dylan Hartley.

Prop Brian Mujati and lock Juandre Kruger are also out through suspension.

"Sometimes, when Saints are missing a few, it effects them mentally," he said.

"They are missing Kruger and three tight head props potentially. Geraghty and Hartley are both missing and Lawes won't come back to them, apparently.

"Mentally, maybe we have the edge that we are used to playing without some of our guys and they are not. We will see what frame of mind they come with.

"It's going to be a real humdinger of a game and we will have to step up from last week at London Irish because that wasn't good enough."

Cockerill said that he is likely to have to call upon the services of some young fringe players with six stars away with England and a lengthy injury list.

"We have 43 players in the wider squad, including the senior Academy players and I think we have 25 available," he said.

"Callum Green will be involved and Dan Hemingway and Andrew Forsyth potentially. If they are picked to play, they will put their bodies on the line.

"The young players are all good enough, they just need experience at the top level.

"Someone like Ben Pienaar, for example, did exceptionally well last season at times like this and was picked in a European quarter-final ahead of Crane."

Richard Blaze and Ben Kay will both be available after being released by England and Kiwi centre Aaron Mauger is back after spending four weeks out with a groin injury.

However, Harry Ellis is still receiving on-going treatment to a knee and Matt Smith is also out.

There also looks like being no place in the match-day 23 for Samoan winger Alesana Tuilagi, despite him returning to England from New Zealand at the start of this week.

"Alesana is in the country but is not in good shape physically," said Cockerill.

"He is not up for selection because he is not fit enough to play."

Cockerill again played down speculation linking Tigers to Australian winger Lote Tuqiri.

"There is nothing to report on Tuqiri at all. That's it," he said.

"Everybody gets linked with us. I have no comment to make on it because there is nothing to report."