Saracens travel to Sixways in the midst of a back-row injury crisis, but Mark McCall’s men could take back the top spot from Exeter Chiefs with a win against Worcester this evening.

After a bump in the road at Bath in round two, Saracens stormed to victory in their next two games, putting in a dominant five-try display over Sale last weekend.

But that convincing win brought a huge blow for the London side, as Billy Vunipola was added to the list of back-row injuries, with Schalk Burger and Michael Rhodes also ruled out.

Director of rugby McCall admits he is looking at ways to bolster his squad but there is no time for new recruits before taking on Warriors tonight, leaving the team vulnerable up front.

“We're assessing who is out there and if there's someone suitable then it's possible we could bring someone in,” he said.

“We've got some good young back rows at the club, but number eight is an area where we're potentially weak.

“Maro (Itoje) can't play at eight but he will probably play back-row a lot over the next few weeks.”

It is Jackson Wray who will fill the big boots of Vunipola at number eight, while Calum Clark gets his first Saracens start at openside and, as promised, Itoje joins the back-row at blindside.

Dominic Day steps in at lock alongside George Kruis, with Hayden Thompson-Stringer, Schalk Brits and Vincent Koch completing the pack.

In the backs, Alex Lozowski wears the number ten shirt with Owen Farrell on the bench, Brad Barritt and Chris Wyles are recalled as Liam Williams is rested.

Despite so many changes, Worcester director of rugby Gary Gold knows his side faces formidable opposition.

“You see some of their performances, they’ve been emphatic – the wins against Northampton and Sale were really quality performances,” he said.

“They seem to be getting better and better as a group, but we need to be mindful that we have to do that too.”

Worcester are yet to win a match this season and Gold has made four changes to his starting XV in a bid to claim a much-needed victory.

Former Saracens players Jack Singleton and Biyi Alo line up in the scrum for Warriors, with Will Spencer joining them on his return from injury and David Denton making his first start for the club.

Jonny Arr is back at scrum-half following a concussion and Jamie Shillcock takes to the field at fly-half in place of an injured Ryan Mills.