Elliott Obatoyinbo is among the players returning for Newcastle Falcons on Sunday when they host northern rivals Sale Sharks in Gallagher Premiership action.

The full-back comes into the side as Newcastle aim for their third win over the Sharks this season, with the Falcons beating Sale in Premiership Rugby Cup and friendly action as well as taking a four-try bonus point from their league trip to Salford.

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Argentina centre Matias Moroni comes into the team for the 3pm Kingston Park kick-off, as does countryman Eduardo Bello, with centre Rory Jennings and flanker Guy Pepper also selected to start.

Scrum-half James Elliott returns to the bench after missing the last few months due to a foot injury, with the Falcons set to host their biggest home crowd of the season.

Consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “Sale have a really good squad and they’re very well coached.

“It’s a well-run club and they’ve got huge motivation of their own in terms of needing a win to keep their top-four hopes alive. Our own motivation is very different in that we’re at home in front of our biggest crowd of the season, and we’ve just taken 85 at Bristol.

“It’s about restoring pride in the shirt. I don’t need to bang the drum because the motivation is already there, and it’ll be a great test against a Sale side with a load of internationals in.

“We’re more concerned with looking after our own game rather than spending too much time focusing on Sale, and there’ll be a massive emphasis on our skill set and attitude.”

Asked about last weekend’s loss at Ashton Gate and how the squad hopes to bounce back, Diamond said: “We were unrecognisable to the side which should have beaten Leicester in our previous game, and it’s my job to turn that around.

“We had no answer for what Bristol put out onto the field, and that’s as much down to me and the coaches as it is the players. There’s collective responsibility here. I don’t think I prepared the team right in the week, we’ve had a discussion about that in training and about what we expect from each other. We expect a damn sight more than what we showed last Sunday, and as I say, I mean all of us.

“I’m confident it’s a blip because we’ve shown so much good stuff in the other three games since I arrived, and as I said on the day, there’s also an element of crediting an outstanding Bristol side for how they performed.

“We took a belting and it’s never nice, but it occasionally happens in sport. It’s about how you respond, and I believe we’ve got the characters here to be able to do that.

“There are some outstanding people here on the playing, coaching and support staff. They work hard, they all care and a game like last Sunday is a reference point for all of us. The beauty of this job is you get another chance to turn it round the following week, and we’ve got a home game against Sale Sharks to really get our teeth into.”

With the North East public set to turn out in droves, Diamond added: “The marketing team have done a great job helping to get what looks like being our biggest home gate of the season.

“I really want to acknowledge that because the staff here have been very good, and I’d also like to thank the supporters who are sticking with us so well despite what we all know has been a poor run of results. We want to do it for the fans more than anything else, and that’s something that’s always in our thoughts.”

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Newcastle Falcons team v Sale Sharks (Sunday, 3pm, Kingston Park Stadium, live on PRTV)

15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Ben Redshaw, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Eduardo Bello, 4 Philip van der Walt, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 6 Sam Cross, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Callum Chick (captain).

Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Mark Dormer, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 James Elliott, 22 Oli Spencer, 23 Tom Penny.

Not available for selection: Phil Brantingham, Nathan Greenwood, Murray McCallum, Kiran McDonald, Hugh O’Sullivan, Pedro Rubiolo, Ben Stevenson.

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke; 1 Bevan Rodd, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 James Harper, 4 Cobus Wiese, 5 Josh Beaumont, 6 Ben Curry (captain), 7 Sam Dugdale, 8 JL du Preez.  

Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Sam James, 23 Tom O’Flaherty.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe.