Saints will play home games against Saracens and Gloucester in the LV= Cup next season, with trips to take on Newport Gwent Dragons and London Irish.
Northampton are be aiming to reach a third LV= Cup final in four years, and forwards coach Dorian West says that the games will have to be taken seriously.
“We’ve got some tough matches,” said West.
“Saracens got to the semi-finals last year and Gloucester have a good record in the cup.
“Meanwhile the Madejski Stadium and Rodney Parade are always difficult places to play.
“But we’ve got confidence in the strength of our squad and will be aiming to do well in the LV= Cup, which is competition where we’ve done well in the past few years.”
Although the Saints will be playing Saracens, Gloucester, London Irish and the Dragons, their results will be compared with those of Newcastle, the Scarlets and London Wasps, who are actually in the Saints’ own pool.
2013-14 LV= Cup Pools
Pool 1: Saracens, Gloucester Rugby, London Irish, Newport Gwent Dragons
Pool 2: Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs, Sale Sharks, Cardiff Blues
Pool 3: Harlequins, Bath Rugby, Worcester Warriors, Ospreys
Pool 4: Northampton Saints, London Wasps, Newcastle Falcons, Scarlets
FIXTURES
Round 1 - 8/9/10 November
Northampton Saints v Gloucester Rugby
Round 2 - 15/16/17 November
London Irish v Northampton Saints
Round 3 - 24/25/26 January
Newport-Gwent Dragons v Northampton Saints
Round 4 - 31/1/2 January/February
Northampton Saints v Saracens
Semi-Finals - 7/8/9 March
The pool winner with the best playing record will be at home against the pool winner with the fourth best playing record in Semi-Final 1. The pool winner with the second best playing record will be at home against the pool winner with the third best playing record in Semi-Final 2.
LV= Cup Final - 16 March - Final venue to be confirmed