Jack Nowell is included despite speculation over his future, and departing Luke Cowan-Dickie is named as captain as Exeter host Northampton.
Nowell is named in an unchanged in their backline following last week's heavy defeat to Saracens.
All five changes to the forward pack with Cowan-Dickie taking over the captaincy from Jack Yeandle and Sam Simmonds – like Cowan-Dickie on his way to Montpellier – comes in too.
Elsewhere in the forwards, Dafydd Jenkins and Jack Dunne replace Ruben Van Heerden and Jonny Gray in the second row, while Dave Ewers also comes in for Santiago Grondona.
The presence of Nowell on the wing suggests that the ongoing discussions around his position at the club, with his contract coming to an end in June, have not distracted from his importance to the team on the pitch.
On the back of European and Premiership Cup success, Exeter will hope last week's loss at the StoneX Stadium was only a blip on a season which has seen an upward trajectory since the beginning of December.
Northampton will be aiming to repeat their win against Exeter from early November in the reverse fixture, and replicate their impressive win against Harlequins last week.
In their starting XV, Tommy Freeman moves to fullback as George Furbank shifts to fly-half, with the injured Fin Smith making way for Courtnall Skosan. In the pack, Sam Matavesi is replaced by Alex Waller and Alex Coles comes in for David RIbbans.
In one of the tightest Premiership races for the final two top four spots in recent record, both teams will see a win at the weekend as pivotal for their play-off chances.
Reflecting on last week's defeat, Exeter scrum-half Sam Maunder is hopeful his side can bounce back on home soil in a vital contest.
“Everyone's taken the defeat pretty personally…we've learnt quite a lot from it,” he said.
“Northampton is a massive game for us. Hopefully we can be the right side of the result and put a decent performance in.
“It's a massive opportunity for us. We love playing at home in front of a home crowd.”
Written by Rupert Reddish
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