Saints visit The Recreation Ground knowing they cannot afford to be distracted by losing captain Dylan Hartley and his England elite squad colleague Calum Clark.
Hartley, who is serving an eight-week ban, will not play club rugby again this season unless Northampton reach the Premiership final at Twickenham on May 26.
Flanker Clark, though, is sidelined until early November, the result of a 32-week suspension imposed by Rugby Football Union disciplinary chiefs following an act of foul play during a showpiece cup final 12 days ago.
Saints could appeal both decisions, and they have already stated that Clark's ban has left them "bound to consider the merits of an appeal".
Clark, 22, was cited after an incident during Northampton's LV= Cup final defeat against Leicester 12 days ago, and then suspended indefinitely by his club.
Clark, who captained Saints in the final, was reported for an act contrary to good sportsmanship, allegedly hyperextending Leicester hooker Rob Hawkins' right arm.
It left Hawkins with a broken elbow and requiring surgery, sidelining him for the rest of this season.
Saints, though, must now seek a victory at the Recreation Ground that would keep them in the play-off zone ahead of their three final regular season fixtures against Leicester, Exeter and Worcester.
"It has been easy to concentrate on this weekend because it is a massive game for us," Saints rugby director Jim Mallinder said.
"If we don't concentrate then we will go down to Bath and get beaten. But we've had our focus on Saturday's game, the lads have trained well and we are looking forward to the challenge.
"We've got a good side for the game, but so do they. They've lost a number of players through injury, but so have we, so it's going to be a tough match."
Bath's World Cup winner Stephen Donald has recovered from injury to return as fly-half at the Rec. Elsewhere, Nick Abendanon starts in the full-back position, with Matt Banahan on the right-wing and Dan Hipkiss joining Matt Carraro in midfield, while changes up-front include a start for flanker Ben Skirving.
For Northampton, former Bath player Andy Long starts at hooker with Hartley sidelined, while James Craig packs down in the back-row alongside Phil Dowson and Roger Wilson.
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