WASPS admit they will have the smell of revenge in their nostrils when they travel north to take on Leeds on Sunday.

The Yorkshire side sent Wasps spinning to their first home defeat in almost a year back in November and director of rugby Tony Hanks admits there is a score to settle.

He said: “We’ve got something to prove to them. Whenever you lose to someone in the first fixture you want to redeem yourself.

“That’s important to us.”

However, Leeds have their own agenda. They are embroiled in a mad scrap for survival and last week’s win at Sale has given them genuine belief.

Hanks said: “Leeds are probably the most dangerous team in the bottom half of the table at the moment.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence and have probably been unlucky through the season.

“But they’ve shown their quality winning three games away and they are hard to score against. They are well coached and their set-piece is good, so we know how tough it’s going to be.”

Head coach Shaun Edwards is also expecting a fierce battle.

He said: “Leeds are a team bang in form and they’re playing with great desperation.

“We know how tough it will be and we have to be mentally right for that game, as well as physically. “ But as determined as Leeds are though, Wasps will be hugely disappointed with anything less than a victory.

They nilled Saracens last weekend and climbing into the top four again will sharpen the focus.

Hanks said: “We said after Leicester that our goal-kicking, our scrum and discipline were the three things that we needed to rectify.

“Taking the two long ones from Danny [Cipriani] out, we haven’t missed a kick at goal in three games, our scrum has been very, very good and given us a dominant platform, and our discipline has been good, particularly against Saracens.

“I can’t remember the last time Wasps denied the opposition a kick at goal.

“We kept Roma to zero but they still had two shots at goal.”

Discipline will again be key on Sunday, particularly on heavy pitch that has not got good reviews this winter.

Hanks said: “I know Richard Cockerill was quite critical of it, but every pitch has taken a battering this winter.

“We believe we’ve got one of the best pitches in the competition but even ours has taken a battering.

“But the Rhinos played on it so I’m assuming it’s playable. The snow hasn’t helped anyone this winter, but we’ll wait and see when we get up there.

“As long as it’s fair underfoot we’ll be quite happy.”

Leeds are expected to have former Wasp and part-time Marlow coach Andy Gomarsall back for the game, while Wasps will not name their team until later today, after assessing the fitness of a handful of players, inlcuding Rob Webber and Danny Cipriani.