Exeter Chiefs have strengthened their side for the Premiership Cup winner-takes-all clash with Gloucester at Sandy Park today (3pm).

Victories over Bristol Bears and Bath, coupled with a five-point victory for their cancelled clash with the now defunct Worcester Warriors, means the Chiefs face a Cherry & Whites side who themselves have collected maximum points from their three games so far, with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs.

Buoyed by last weekend’s 25-22 win over Bath, Pellow will again call upon many of those who produced the goods to see off their Westcountry rivals in atrocious conditions a week ago.

But the Chiefs have also added in some of the players who featured in the 24-21 defeat at Newcastle Falcons the night before that game.

Dan John plays at full-back, Sean O’Brien and Solomone Kata are in the centres, Will Becconsall is at scrum-half, and Jack Dunne and Lewis Pearson are in the second row.

“We we’re really pleased, not just with the result, but with the performance as well, against Bath,” said Chiefs’ skills coach Ricky Pellow.

“That victory has set us up nicely and takes us into what is now a massive game against Gloucester this weekend. They have been the form side in our group, winning every game with a bonus point, so we know it’s going to be super tough, but a great challenge at the same time.”

With a potential home semi-final spot up for grabs, the Chiefs are well aware that victory is essential in their quest for glory.

“It’s all in our hands, we know what we have to do,” added Pellow. “We know all about Gloucester’s strength, particularly around their strong maul game, they use that as a real weapon to gain momentum and territory, so we have to stop that. Equally, they have quality half-backs who like to control the game, so again we need to shut off that threat and their key runners.

“At the same time, we too have to impose ourselves on them. We have to get our game right and look to build a lead, put pressure on them and, hopefully, do enough to try and get that bonus point.”

“It’s a good mix we’ve got again this weekend,” continued Pellow. “This competition is one we’ve always looked to attack and it offers a great opportunity for not only those younger players to play under the Exeter Chiefs banner, but also some of the more experienced guys to get game time under their belts and push for selection in other competitions.

“Personally, I wish we had more games like this. With no A League these days plus those big blocks where players can go without playing under the Chiefs, it’s a real shame.

“That said, we have great links with our loan clubs and you can see that development those players are getting is really helping when they come back into games like this.”