Armitage starts at openside flanker, Geraghty at fly-half and Hodgson at scrum-half.
The only other change to the team that earned a draw against Bath last weekend is among the forwards where Tonga Lea’aetoa comes in at tighthead prop.
Former Tigers hooker James Buckland retains his place in the Irish front row.
“Our meetings with Leicester are always very competitive,” said head coach Toby Booth. “There was only one score in it when we met earlier in the season at Welford Road. We will have to replicate that performance on Sunday if we are to get a result. We enjoy measuring ourselves against the big clubs at Madejski Stadium and are excited about the challenge.”
London Irish (v Leicester Tigers, Sunday 1pm)
15 Tom Homer
14 Topsy Ojo
13 Seilala Mapusua
12 Elvis Seveali’i
11 Adam Thompstone
10 Shane Geraghty
9 Paul Hodgson
1 Clarke Dermody
2 James Buckland
3 Tonga Lea’aetoa
4 James Hudson
5 Bob Casey (captain)
6 Richard Thorpe
7 Steffon Armitage
8 Chris Hala’Ufia
Replacements:
16 Alex Corbisiero
17 Danie Coetzee
18 Gary Johnson
19 Declan Danaher
20Sailosi Tagicakibau
21 Peter Richards
22 Mike Catt
