English teams have made a habit of coming second on the big occasions this season, a trend that Leicester will wish to reverse this afternoon when they defend the EDF Energy Cup in the final at Twickenham against the Ospreys. Uncertain though the future of this Anglo-Welsh competition may be, it carries a wad of cash and European qualification with it.

Having met in last year's final, the teams are familiar with each other; seven of that starting XV start again in Leicester colours, while ten of the Ospreys remain, a number that does not include Gavin Henson. A year ago, long-term injury removed the Wales centre, now the ankle ligament damage he suffered in the Heineken Cup defeat by Saracens last weekend is enough to deprive a Twickenham crowd in excess of 62,000 of his talents.

What neither Leicester nor the Ospreys know is how the Welsh region will play after that unexpected defeat in Europe on Sunday. The incentive is there - this is their only chance of a trophy this season, their defence of the Magners League having slipped - but there is a degree of expectation on Lyn Jones, their coach, to deliver a title with his squad of international players.

Since they are only five years old as an entity and have won two Celtic titles, the judgments being made of the Ospreys may be harsh. Too many of their players had an off day in Watford, dropping passes, ignoring overlaps and, as Jones remarked, sometimes the unexpected comes along and bites you. As a flanker for Neath in their heyday of the late Eighties, he remembers a Welsh Cup semi-final defeat by Glamorgan Wanderers that no one predicted, but it is up to his players to show how resilient they are.

“Several of our players have won a fixture at Twickenham already this season,” Jones said, referring to Wales's defeat of England on the opening weekend of the RBS Six Nations Championship. “We've played Leicester a number of times and every game has been a huge contest of positive rugby. Beating them would go a long way towards making up for last Sunday because I still think they're one of the top four teams in Europe. It would be a massive scalp for us.”

Jones has refreshed his pack, although Marty Holah remains in the back row, all set for a confrontation with another open-side flanker from New Zealand, Ben Herring, once of Wellington. Last week Richard Hill, the former England flanker, drew Holah's sting and Herring will attempt to do the same for Leicester, who are without the injured Lewis Moody, Geordan Murphy and James Hamilton.

As expected, they are also short of Seru Rabeni, the Fiji centre, whose appeal against a 14-week suspension failed on Thursday. Rabeni was banned for a gouging incident in his team's Guinness Premiership match against Saracens and cannot play until early July, but the midfield combination of Aaron Mauger and Dan Hipkiss, plus the outstanding form at fly half of Andy Goode, creates all sorts of possibilities for Leicester.

This will also be the first appearance of Northampton on the big stage since their relegation last season. Having secured promotion against Exeter Chiefs last month, they play the same opponents in the final of the EDF Energy National Trophy, which precedes the Anglo-Welsh final. It will be Exeter's fourth appearance in the junior final and they have yet to win.

The Magners League has adopted the same end-of-season format as the Guinness Premiership and, from the 2009-10 season, will place the top four teams in play-off matches with a grand final.

How they line up

Leicester: J Murphy; O Smith, D Hipkiss, A Mauger, A Tuilagi; A Goode, H Ellis; B Stankovich, G Chuter, M Castrogiovanni, L Deacon, B Kay, M Corry, B Herring, J Crane. Replacements: B Kayser, J White, R Blaze, T Croft, C Laussucq, S Vesty, T Varndell.

Ospreys: L Byrne; J Vaughton, S Parker, A Bishop, S Williams; J Hook, J Marshall; P James, R Hibbard, A Jones, A-W Jones, I Evans, R Jones, M Holah, F Tiatia. Replacements: H Bennett, D Jones, I Gough, J Thomas, G Owen, J Spratt, A Brew.

Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).

Television: BBC One: 2.10pm (kick-off 2.30pm).