Dowson went on to say that Saints “learned a lot” from that recent defeat by Tigers, but added his side are “not scarred too much by the memory of it”.
“We are playing this game, and not that one,” he said.
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling said Tigers will be “excited” for the derby showdown and readily that the rivalry always brings an “emotion edge”, but insisted that his side has prepared as normal.
“The group are in a great spot, we won’t do much different to what we normally do,” he told BBC East Midlands Today.
Northampton Saints: Furbank; Freeman, Litchfield, Hutchinson, Hendy; Smith, McParland; Iyogun, Langdon, Millar Mills; Coles, Prowse, Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock.
Replacements: Wright, Fischetti, Green, Van Der Mescht, Lockett, Chick, Weimann, Dingwall.
Leicester Tigers: Steward; Radwan, Wand, Bailey, Hassell-Collins; Searle, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Blamire, Heyes; Martin, Chessum, Liebenberg, Reffell, Moro.
Replacements: Clare, Van der Flier, Hurd, Henderson, Cracknell, Whiteley, Kata, Perese.
