Exeter Chiefs' record in the second tier of English rugby in recent years speaks for itself.

The Devon club have finished runners-up in each of the last two seasons – missing out to Northampton in 2007-08 and Leeds last season – and have finished inside the top six in each of the last 11 seasons.

And Rob Baxter's men are understandably viewed as the biggest threat to Bristol's hopes of returning to the Guinness Premiership at the first time of asking.

Like Bristol, they have won their opening four matches of the Championship season.

And their squad for tomorrow's match includes two players who have played for Bristol – hooker Neil Clark and fly-half Danny Gray – while other ex-Bristol men on their books include Saul Nelson, Haydn Thomas and Sean Marsden.

Head coach Baxter said: "This is the first game where I have said we need to not over-focus on the opposition. When you know a lot about the opposition, and we do because we have a lot of players who played there, it's easy to get too caught up on how they play. We have got to make the focus about us, a bit like we did against Sale (in pre-season)."

The Chiefs have made a winning start to the new season, despite losing a wealth of talent over the summer. Josh Drauniniu, Lewis Stevenson and John Andress all joined Harlequins, while Richie Pugh signed for Scarlets and Dan Tuohy moved to Ulster.

But they have recruited well, bringing in flanker James Scaysbrook from Bath, winger Mark Foster from Gloucester and centre Phil Dollman from Newport Gwent Dragons.

Former Bristol lock Ollie Kohn is hoping a big crowd turns out for tomorrow's match – and not simply because he wants to see his hometown club roared on by a vociferous support.

The Harlequins forward, who is recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, has set up a business – the Jolly Hog & Sausage Company – who will be providing hog roasts at all Bristol home matches this season. "We did the first two home games and it was well received," said Kohn.

"It's something I had wanted to do for a while, and having a couple of long-term injuries made me realise it was important to have something outside rugby.

"They are expecting a decent crowd on Sunday and a lot of people are talking about this game. Exeter pride themselves on their pack, so it will be a big test for Bristol."