Newcastle Falcons have named their team for Sunday’s televised Gallagher Premiership trip to Leicester Tigers.

Matias Moroni makes his first trip back to Mattioli Woods Welford Road since forming part of the Leicester side which won the 2022 Premiership final.

The Argentina centre scored against his former club back in January when the Falcons enjoyed a 45-26 home victory, also crossing the try-line last weekend with a first-half score against Exeter Chiefs.

He lines up in a Newcastle team showing five personnel changes from that game – Louis Brown coming onto the left wing after scoring on his Premiership debut at Sale Sharks a fortnight ago. Elliott Obatoyinbo starts at full-back, meanwhile, as Tom Penny moves up into the centres in place of Cameron Hutchison (concussion).

In the forward pack Sam Cross starts at open-side with Guy Pepper missing out due to the hip injury sustained against Exeter. Adam Brocklebank packs down at loose-head prop, and former Tiger Sebastian de Chaves starts at lock.

Louie Johnson continues at fly-half, with the 20-year-old Cumbrian striking a touchline winner with the final kick of the game on his last visit to Welford Road when the Falcons snatched a Premiership Rugby Cup triumph in October of last year.

Tim Cardall is added to the bench with a calf injury having ruled out Philip van der Walt, and there is a recall for outside back Oliver Spencer after impressing on his Premiership debut at Sale Sharks.

Newcastle Falcons head coach Alex Codling is determined to nail down his side’s first league win of the season following a number of close shaves, saying: “Nobody here is accepting defeat – don’t be under any illusions about that.

“We’re working night and day to find those extra pieces of the puzzle which will get us over the line in these close games, and we’re not far off. I know people will be sick of hearing me say it – I’m sick of it myself – but it’s a big challenge which we’re tackling head-on.

“The boys have shown bucket loads of resilience this season and we’ve been competitive in all but one of our games. That one was against Saracens who went on to thump Harlequins away from home the following week, so you have to keep it in perspective.

“Some people on the outside say it’s a free shot this season, which I fundamentally disagree with. When you work 14 hours a day, seven days a week and you see a group of men fight and scrap like we did against Exeter, only to lose narrowly at the end – it hurts.

“We don’t have the depth and the level of experience that other teams have got, and the challenge is great, but all I care about is this group of players. They’re a brilliant group to work with, and yes, they will make some mistakes, but one thing I can never question is their fight and their spirit. When we do make errors we look to learn from them and be really positive in our language with the players, and that’s really important.”

Highlighting the importance of his young, local talent, Codling added: “My big focus is on developing the next generation of players for Newcastle Falcons.

“Maybe that means I’m rolling the dice potentially in the short term, but it’s the future of the club we’re talking about. I’m going to keep giving these guys opportunities, and in any walk of life you need to have that medium to long-term outlook if you want to be successful.

“In the short term it means we’re giving opportunities to lots of really talented young players who are going to make some mistakes, but down the line it will be really positive for us. The guys will take a huge amount of confidence and learning from being involved in these games, and I’ve got enormous faith in them.

“My job is to pick and choose which games they come in for because you have to protect them and develop them carefully, but it’s really exciting as a coach to give these guys opportunities and see them thriving.

“Seeing a guy like Louie Johnson coming in at 20 years of age and starting at fly-half in a live televised Premiership game last weekend – I thought he did really well – and we’ve seen similar with the likes of Oli Spencer, Guy Pepper, Ben Redshaw and others I could name.”

Well aware of the size of Sunday’s challenge, Codling said: “We’re massive underdogs at Leicester. Absolutely massive. Nobody outside of these four walls expects us to get anything, and what that allows us to do is really attack the game with a positive mind-set.

“We’ll be up against 15 internationals on their home patch in front of more than 20,000 supporters live on television. If you can’t be motivated by that as a player, then frankly you shouldn’t put your boots on.

“There’ll be World Cup winners up against us and we know what’s coming. They’ll be huge favourites and we know the size of the challenge, but we’re excited by it and determined to go down there with a really positive mind-set.”

Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers (Sunday, 3pm, Mattioli Woods Welford Road, live on TNT Sports)

15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Louis Brown, 10 Louie Johnson, 9 James Elliott; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Eduardo Bello, 4 John Hawkins, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 6 Pedro Rubiolo, 7 Sam Cross, 8 Callum Chick (captain).

Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Oliver Spencer.

Not available for selection: Mateo Carreras, Sam Clark, Ben Douglas, Cameron Hutchison, Isaac Keller, Richard Palframan, Guy Pepper, Marcus Tiffen, Philip van der Walt, George Wacokecoke.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Francois Van Wyk, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 3 Dan Cole, 4 Harry Wells, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Matt Rogerson, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Solomone Kata.

Referee: Sara Cox.