Dai Young: Happy with how his side is playing

Wasps are unbeaten at home this term, and it would be a major surprise if rock-bottom Sale take that record from them.

But rugby director Young feels his players are still prone to putting themselves under pressure at points in games.

"We are in pretty good nick despite how small our squad is, and our home form is pleasing," he said.

"Even in those performances, though - and I am beginning to sound like a broken record - we still haven't had that full 80 minutes of control and we still put ourselves under lots of pressure.

"There are two things that could happen, I believe, if we don't change that soon.

"Things are going to stick for us and we could hammer a team, or we are going to come unstuck to a side that punishes us for those small errors.

"We have to keep on improving and we have to keep on searching for that 80-minute performance. That is what we are striving towards."

Young also does not subscribe to the theory that Sale are down and out in terms of this season's Premiership.

Sale have won just a solitary Premiership game this season and they are currently six points adrift at the basement. Their latest result was a 62-0 Heineken Cup drubbing by French heavyweights Toulon.

But Young added: "I think, if anything, their loss last weekend in France will make them a bit more determined.

"They are going to be a bit of a wounded animal, and those sides are always very dangerous.

"I thought for 30 minutes they did okay last weekend, and let's be honest, there are very few teams who are going to push Toulon away from home.

"I am certainly not reading too much into it. We expect Sale to come desperate for a win. They totally outplayed us last year, both home and away, so I am sure they feel that they can come and do a job here.

"Things can change very quickly.

"I personally believe that they have got too many quality players to not put a few wins together shortly. We are just hoping that we get ourselves right and that doesn't start this weekend."

Wasps captain and full-back Hugo Southwell is back in action as one of six changes from the Amlin Challenge Cup success against Bayonne eight days ago.

Top try-scorer Tom Varndell misses out, though, because of a foot injury, so Elliot Daly moves to the wing, while returning forwards include hooker Rhys Thomas and England second-row star Joe Launchbury.

Sale, eager to recover quickly from that Toulon result, welcome back hooker Marc Jones for his first start since early September, while Sam Tuitupou and Jonny Leota are reunited in midfield and Nick Macleod features at fly-half instead of Danny Cipriani.

Cipriani might have been expected to feature against his former club, but the ex-England number 10 does not even figure on the replacements' bench.