ANYBODY who tries to predict the outcome of games with as much at stake as there is this weekend is asking for trouble.

And it is probably even more foolhardy to rely on statistics to provide an insight into who is going to win the battle to avoid relegation.

Which is just as well because, if the latest stats produced by OPTA count for anything, Warriors will have their work cut out to beat the drop when they take on Saracens at Sixways on Saturday.

In the 21 games that have taken place to date, their opponents have scored more tries than any other side in the top flight.

Fly-half Glen Jackson and full-back Dan Scarbrough are their two stand-out performers. Both players have missed just one match each and their availability and consistency has arguably been the basis for Saracens' success.

Scarbrough tops the league in terms of clean breaks with 21 over the course of the season. He has also made the most metres of any player in the Guinness Premiership with 1,337.

Jackson is the league's top scorer with 272 points and is third in terms of kicking accuracy behind Charlie Hodgson and Ludovic Mercier, recording a 77.97 per cent success rate. Jackson also has more try assists than any other player with 10.

And his performances have not escaped the attention of Worcester director of rugby John Brain.

"Jackson really orchestrates their game," said Brain. "But they have got a lot of threat in their back three - Scarbor-ough, Thomas Castaignede and the Fijian winger Kameli Ratuvou."

It's not all bad news for Warriors though. Worcester's line-out has been one of the best in the business this season. They are second behind London Irish in terms of line-outs won with 274.

However, they have lost 70 line-outs - 13 more than Saracens.

Critically, lock Craig Gillies is expected to return to the Warriors side after suspension and he is very much the line-out king at Sixways.

Gillies leads the league in line-out takes from his own team's throw and is second behind London Irish's Nick Kennedy in terms of steals off opposition ball.

Another weapon for Worcester is Shane Drahm, who has kicked three drop goals this season, the second highest total in the league.

If Worcester lose or draw, they will be dependant on events at Franklin's Gardens, where Saints take on London Irish.

The match pits the team with fewest penalties conceded, London Irish, against the team with the most, Northampton. However, both sides have struggled to take advantage of penalties.

The best penalty kicker on either side in percentage terms is the Exiles' Barry Everitt, who will leave at the end of the season - ironically to join Saints.

London Irish will be wary of the versatile Paul Tupai. The Samoan picked up two yellow cards in the first month of the season, but his performances in the 21 matches he has played make him the league's second highest run maker, making 164 runs in total or just under eight per match.