Preview: European Cup, Round Four

This is a mark held by Munster since 2007.

Saracens last week crushed Sale 50-3 at home and meet their English rivals again at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday, before heading to Parc y Scarlets in Round Five.

However, it is another story altogether for Saracens' English Premiership rivals Northampton Saints.

The misfiring English Premiership club's European Champions Cup campaign received the worst possible news ahead of this weekend's return match at Leinster with hooker Dylan Hartley banned for six weeks.

The 30-year-old New Zealand-born England skipper received the ban on Wednesday for striking Leinster flank Sean O'Brien in last week's crushing 37-10 defeat by the Irish province, and for which he was shown a red card at the time.

Saints coach Jim Mallinder said bluntly that Hartley had "let his side down".

The hooker will be available for England's first Six Nations game in 2017, having received support from Rugby Football Union Chairman Ian Ritchie despite having taken his weeks of suspension for foul play to a whopping 60 weeks.

More concerning for Northampton will be a daunting trip to Leinster, who sit atop Pool Four, with Montpellier taking on Castres in the other group game.

Second-placed Toulon will seek to make it two from two over the Scarlets following their 31-20 home victory, the latter missing flank and Olympic sevens silver medallist James Davies after he copped a three-week ban for making obscene gestures after being penalised by the referee.

In Pool One, there was a record defeat for Leicester at Thomond Park as Munster ran out 38-0 winners to make it two from two last weekend, and Glasgow beat last season's runners-up and reigning French champions Racing 92 in Paris to stay in contention just behind their Pro12 rivals.

"In professional sport we are used to playing back-to-back rugby," said Leicester captain Tom Youngs.

"There are weeks when you have a bad game or the scoreline says something but then you have a week to get it right and have a think about it and look forward to the challenge.

"The difference is that we get to play Munster again, which doesn't happen in the Premiership. We are looking forward to it and we have to put some pride back in the jersey and work a bit more for each other. It's not all broken, I'm sure we can pull it out."

There were similar sentiments from Racing coach Ronan O'Gara, who said Glasgow had "greatly deserved" their 23-14 victory over a vaunted side led by All Black Dan Carter.

"They defended very well against our strengths and we committed too many faults.

"The use of the calculator could soon prove useless, as soon as Friday in case of another defeat, in Glasgow this time. Mathematically, we can still qualify. But it will be necessary to win practically all matches with bonus."

Pool Two leaders Wasps also head to Ireland, hoping to complete the double over Connacht after a 32-17 triumph at the Ricoh Arena that included a try and a yellow card for Australian new boy Kurtley Beale.

An away win will be Ulster's goal as well as they look to back up their scintillating 39-32 home victory over previously unbeaten Clermont.

We look at all the Round Four action!

Friday, December 16

Glasgow Warriors v Racing 92

(Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT; 20.45 French time)

Glasgow Warriors scrumhalf Henry Pyrgos is determined to take another giant leap towards the European Champions Cup quarterfinals with a second triumph over Racing 92.

Gregor Townsend's men earned a historic 23-14 triumph over last season's finalists at Stade Yves-du-Manoir to boost their push towards the knockout stages. Their third victory on French soil saw them keep pace with Munster in the Pool One race.

But they will have to repeat their famous victory in front of their Scotstoun faithful if they are to maintain their challenge. And Pyrgos, who has just put pen-to-paper on a new deal at Scotstoun, is determined to make it two in-a-row against Dan Carter and co.

"We've been competing at the top end of the league for a while but we have not cracked Europe," Pyrgos said.

"When you look at the Racing team sheet you can probably see why. Every team you come up against is a real quality side.

"In the past we have had good wins but we are going to have to back it up week after week and play really well consistently. That is the challenge for us this weekend. It is an exciting one and the boys are raring to go. They want to go out and show we can do it again against quality opposition."

Co-captain Pyrgos will be pushing to start over Ali Price, who was entrusted in the scrum-half role in Paris. Racing, who sit bottom of the pool without a win from their two matches so far, are out to kick-start their campaign. And coach Ronan O'Gara knows they will have to claim a bonus-point win if they are to get back in the knockout picture.

He said: "Glasgow greatly deserved the victory, there is nothing to complain about. They defended very well against our strengths and we, we committed too many faults in the current game. Mentally, we were not there.

"The use of the calculator could soon prove useless, as soon as Friday in case of another defeat, in Glasgow this time. Mathematically, we can still qualify. But it will be necessary to win practically all matches with bonus."

The teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar , 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ryan Wilson, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Gordon Reid.

Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Brian Alainu'uese, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Sean Lamont.

Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Anthony Tuitavake, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Viliamu Afatia.

Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Thibault Dubarry, 20 Antonie Claassen, 21 Xavier Chauveau, 22 Benjamin Dambielle, 23 Joe Rokocoko.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Leo Colgan (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)

TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Saturday, December 17

Bordeaux-Begles v Exeter Chiefs

(Stade Chaban-Delmas – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)

England wing Jack Nowell is determined to show what the Exeter Chiefs are capable of as they seek revenge on Bordeaux-Begles in the European Champions Cup.

The Chiefs will travel to France for their Pool Five match-up on the back of a 13-7 loss to the Top 14 side. Rob Baxter's men were cruelly denied a semi-final spot last season, but they face a near impossible task to qualify this time around after defeats to Bordeaux, Ulster and Clermont Auvergne.

But England international Nowell is relishing the opportunity to get back to winning ways at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

He said: "There is no point in us dwelling on this result. We have another chance this weekend to go down there and put in a big performance.

"It's not that often you get the chance to play teams back-to-back, so we have to take the positives from this game and then focus fully on the game over there.

"Each week we know we're going to be playing against some of the best teams in the world, so we never take anything for granted when pulling on an Exeter shirt."

Nowell has been struck by injury problems this season, and has only played three games. But the 23-year old wing is ready to put the setback behind him and aims to build on with a busy run of games coming ahead.

He said: "I felt a lot better out there than I did on Monday when I played for the Braves. Monday was more about just blowing away the cobwebs, but the boys really helped me today and now I'm looking to just kick on from here."

At the midway point of the pool stages, Exeter lie at the bottom of the group, having picked up two losing bonus-points. But, at the top, things are shaping up to be very tight as Clermont-Auvergne lead on 12 points, with Top 14 rivals Bordeaux second on nine.

The Chiefs face an uphill battle as they travel to the daunting 34,000 capacity Stade Chaban-Delmas where Bordeaux have not lost since September 4 against Montpellier.

Teams:

Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Geoffrey Cros, 14 Nans Ducuing, 13 Romain Lonca, 12 Joe Wakacegu, 11 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Julien Audy, 8 Marco Tauleigne, 7 Joe Edwards, 6 Loann Goujon, 5 Berend Botha, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Marc Clerc, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua.

Replacements: 16 Benat Auzqui, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Xerom Civil, 19 Cyril Cazeaux, 20 Louis Madaule, 21 Gauthier Doubrere, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Jean-Marcellin Buttin.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Kai Horstmann (captain), 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Ollie Atkins, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Carl Rimmer.

Replacement: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Moray Low, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Don Armand, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Michele Campagnaro.

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Richard Kerr (Ireland)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Leicester Tigers v Munster

(Welford Road – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)

Leicester Tigers captain Tom Youngs is determined to turn the tables on Munster at Welford Road on Saturday.

The Tigers were powerless to stop Munster from cruising to a bonus-point 38-0 triumph to take control of European Champions Cup Pool One.

The men from Thomond Park sit top, despite playing a game less than Glasgow Warriors and Leicester.

But Leicester are out for revenge in-front of their home support on Saturday. But they will have to do out without Freddie Burns, who will miss the game with a head injury, though Manu Tuilagi is fit to start. And Youngs is relishing their shot at redemption this weekend.

He said: "In professional sport we are used to playing back-to-back rugby. There are weeks when you have a bad game or the scoreline says something but then you have a week to get it right and have a think about it and look forward to the challenge.

"The difference is that we get to play Munster again, which doesn't happen in the Premiership. We are looking forward to it and we have to put some pride back in the jersey and work a bit more for each other. It's not all broken, I'm sure we can pull it out."

A third successive victory for Munster would make them favourites to qualify as Pool One winners. And they will be confident of victory having win their last seven matches – two in the Champions Cup, four in the PRO12 and the victory against the Maori All Blacks. But skipper Peter O'Mahony is wary of the wounded Tigers.

He said: "Because it's so close I think it makes the second week probably more difficult. Especially given the club Leicester are and the quality they have, they will be hurting after that.

"They'll be waiting for us over there, and we have to have a big week. We have to recover well, and have a big training week, and probably have the biggest European week of this current team's history so far. They'll be mad to get us over there and get stuck into us.

"Europe is very important to us and we have a history of making Thomond Park special. You always want to go out and honour it and honour the crowd and the effort they put in to show up and cheer us on like they always do. It was nice to be able to put in a good performance for them."

Teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 George Worth, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Jack Roberts, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Adam Thompstone 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.

Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Logovi’i Mulipola, 18 Greg Bateman, 19 Mike Fitzgerald, 20 Mike Williams, 21 Will Evans, 22 Sam Harrison, 23 Tom Brady.

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Andrew Conway.

Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)

Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)

TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Toulouse v Zebre

(Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-off: 16.15; 16.15 Italian time; 15.15 GMT)

Toulouse will be without a trio of key forwards for their European Champions Cup Pool Two match against Italian side Zebre on Saturday.

Edwin Maka, Cyril Baille and Julien Marchand all suffered injuries in last weekend's win in Parma.

No.8 Maka has had an operation on his hand and will be out for 10 weeks with front row Baille out for three weeks after taking a blow to the ribs.

Toulouse ended a six-game European winless run when they beat Zebre 36-6 in foggy conditions last weekend.

Arthur Bonneval scored a brace of tries with Yoan Huget, Gael Fickou and Joe Tekori also getting on the scoresheet. Sebastian Bezy kicked 11 points for Toulouse who sit seventh in the Top 14 after an inconsistent start to the first half of their domestic campaign

But the French are hunting down the top two of Wasps and Connacht in Pool Two, and will target another bonus-point win over Zebre if they are to keep tabs on the leaders.

Five points would likely be enough for Toulouse to move into second in the group with Connacht taking on Wasps in Galway on Saturday.

Zebre are rock bottom of the group having lost all three of their games. Carlo Canna booted their six points in the loss last weekend, and the Italians have scored just 27 points across their European matches this season.

And they face a tough task travelling to the Stade Ernest-Wallon, as Toulouse have not lost there in five games, including the 20-20 draw against Wasps in October.

But Zebre head coach Gianluca Guidi believes there are positives to be drawn from what has so far been a steep learning curve.

He said: "I saw on the field against Toulouse some good things and we proved we can compete at this level. We moved the ball well and we went well in defence with four kicks.

"But we must understand that these players quickly adapt to our way of defending: that is their strength and we have to learn from that."

Teams:

Toulouse: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Arthur Bonneval, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Paul Perez, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Samuel Marques, 8 Gillian Galan, 7 Talalelei Gray, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Gregory Lamboley, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.

Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Nicolaas van Dyk, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Sébastien Bezy, 22 Yann David , 23 Kunatani Kunabuli.

Zebre: 15 Guglielmo Palazzani, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Matteo Pratichetti, 12 Faialaga Afamasaga, 11 Kayle Van Zyl, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Josh Furno, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 George Biagi, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Tommaso D’Apice, 1 Bruno Postiglioni.

Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 Guillermo Roan, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Christofell du Plessis , 21 Carlo Engelbrecht, 22 Serafin Bordoli, 23 Tommy Castello.

Referee: Ian Tempest (England)

Assistant referees: Greg Garner (England), Jonathan Healy (England)

TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

Connacht v Wasps

(The Sportsground – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)

Connacht boss Pat Lam believes his team can avenge their defeat to Wasps in the second game of their European Champions Cup Pool Two double header.

Wasps had to work hard to beat Pro12 champions Connacht 32-17 at the Ricoh Arena last weekend.

Dai Young's men are in a good run of form, having won four of their last five games and with star Australian back Kurtley Beale now fit after a long period out injured.

That said, Lam reckons Connacht can win at the Galway Sportsground on Saturday.

He said: "We were not too far off Wasps and although this was a key game we're still sitting second in the pool.

"I said before the game if we won one of the two games against Wasps we would have a great chance of getting through, and if we won both we would be pretty much there.

"So now we're down to getting back in front of our own crowd, and if we can get a result we'll be right back in contention. If we play how we can, we have a game plan that can win this, so it will come down to execution."

Wasps are top of the group having racked up 134 points in the Champions Cup this season – more than any other club in the competition.

But Connacht are close behind as they trail Wasps by just three points. A win in Galway could see them leapfrog the Premiership heavyweights at the top of the pool.

Connacht's defence of the Pro12 title has been disappointing, with Lam's men languishing in eighth, 17 points behind leaders Munster.

And Lam knows his struggling squad will have to recover in time to face an in-form Wasps in what is a six-day turnaround.

He said: "Our squad is not the same size as theirs, so we need to have a light week where we concentrate on recovery.

"I'll do my usual thing of highlighting the good things and the errors, but the boys are already talking about things we need to get better at. I know our line-out will be better on Saturday."

Teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Rory Parata, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 John Muldoon (captain), 7 Nepia Fox-Matamua, 6 Eoin McKeon, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.

Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Danie Poolman, 23 Naulia Dawai.

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Matt Mullan.

Replacements: 16 Alex Rieder, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Marty Moore, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Alapati Leiua 23 Frank Halai.

Referee: Jerome Garces (France)

Assistant referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Sebastian Cloute (France)

TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Leinster v Northampton Saints

(Aviva Stadium – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)

Leinster are hoping European Champions Cup history does not repeat itself when they welcome Northampton Saints back to the Aviva Stadium.

The three-time European champions sent a statement of intent to their Pool Four rivals with a thumping 37-10 triumph at Franklin's Gardens last weekend. A repeat result would put Leo Cullen's men in pole position to qualify for the quarterfinals.

But they know the dangers of writing off a wounded Northampton Saints side after their back-to-back clashes in 2013. Leinster ran riot to claim a 40-7 victory at Northampton, but the Saints were resurrected a week later and shocked the Aviva Stadium 18-9. And scrum coach John Fogarty knows not to write-off a wounded Northampton side on Sunday.

He said: "We're very conscious of Northampton. The last three seasons they've played their back-to-backs in December they've lost home games and come back the following week and done very well.

"For us it's important that we're prepping a whole new game for this week and we get the mindset right to take on what's going to be an angry pack in the Aviva."

Northampton are playing catchup in Pool Four after a win and two defeats so far. Leinster lead the way on 11 points with Montpellier just behind on 10. The Saints will have to win their three remaining fixtures to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds. And director of rugby Jim Mallinder wants to see his men take the game to Leinster.

He said: "We've got to go out there and play some rugby; we're not going to beat them playing 10-man rugby. They've clearly got a good pack who put our forwards under pressure in the set piece, particularly the scrum, although we did well on our line-outs and they did well on their line-outs.

"We'll be looking to be better there and we'll be looking to play some rugby. I saw some improvements in our game, in our accuracy and getting the ball wide at certain times. We need to keep building on that. Discipline is of course a major area, and if we don't improve there we're going to suffer."

Teams:

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Isa Nacewa (captain), 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.

Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Rory O’Loughlin.

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi (captain), 12 JJ Hanrahan, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 James Craig, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Ethan Waller.

Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Tom Kessell, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 James Wilson.

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Assistant referees: Tual Trainini (France), Mathieu Noirot (France)

TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin (France)

Sunday, December 18

Scarlets v RC Toulon

(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT; 14.00 French time)

Wales star Jonathan Davies returns on the bench for the Scarlets in their Pool Three European Champions Cup tie with Toulon on Sunday.

Davies sat out last weekend's 31-20 loss at the Stade Felix Mayol with a hamstring injury, but is likely to make a second-half impact in the return fixture in Llanelli.

The centre's Wales team-mate Leigh Halfpenny put the boot into Scarlets as he kicked 11 points and added a try in an impressive display in the first meeting between the sides.

Georgian giant Mamuka Gorgodze, Romain Taofifenua and skipper Guilhem Guirado ran in further scores as Toulon bagged a vital bonus-point win.

That crucial extra point puts them within reach of pool leaders and reigning champions Saracens who top the group with 14 points. Toulon trail on nine, with the Scarlets on four.

Wayne Pivac welcomes back Rob Evans and Samson Lee to his front row, the props starting alongside hooker Ken Owens for the first time this season.

Pivac has made five changes in total, but star man Liam Williams continues at full-back. "We know what's ahead of us this week. There's a lot to play for," Pivac said.

"You don't get to play these sides that often and when you do it's a great challenge. The players love these fixtures. To have a side like Toulon at home is going to be great. We'd like to right the wrongs of last week."

The Scarlets boast a six-game unbeaten run at home and haven't lost at Parc y Scarlets since September 3 when Munster were 23-13 winners in the Pro12 opener.

The last time Toulon travelled to Llanelli was in January 2015 when they ran out 26-3 winners, with Mathieu Bastareaud and Bryan Habana bagging tries.

Scarlets No 8 John Barclay said: "We have to win this weekend realistically, so we will give them a good game.

"They have a lot of money, we don't have as much money. That is the simple maths of it really.

"What we have is guys who work very hard. It is one thing having big names but there can be something said for guys who are young and full of energy."

Teams:

Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Hadleigh Parkes, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Josh Macleod, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Jonathan Davies.

Toulon: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Pierre Bernard, 9 Jonathan Pelissie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juandre Kruger, 6 Charles Ollivon, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Mamuka Gorgodze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Xavier Chiocci.

Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Marcel Van Der Merwe, 19 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 20 Jocelino Suta, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Samu Manoa.

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

Assistant referees: JP Doyle (England), Andrew Jackson (England)

TMO: David Grashoff (England)

Castres Olympique v Montpellier

(Stade Pierre Antoine – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)

Montpellier will be without prop Davit Kubriashvili for their return European Rugby Champions Cup fixture against Top 14 rivals Castres Olympique after the Georgian's red card last Saturday.

The two French giants will meet again on Sunday, with Castres out for revenge after their 36-14 loss last weekend. Kubriashvili was shown red by Welsh referee Ben Whitehouse for striking Thibault Lassale in the face with his shoulder at a ruck.

But Castres failed to capitalise on the extra man as Montpellier clawed their way back from 11-10 down at the break to pull off an impressive comeback that saw them run in three tries to Castres' none.

Just over 100 miles separates the two French clubs who are split by only three points in the Top 14 with Montpellier sitting second, and Castres fifth.

But, for now at least, all eyes are firmly set on the Pool 4 clash, as both sides remain very much in the hunt for the knock-out stages in what is a very tight pool.

Leinster lead with 11 points, with Montpellier stalking behind with 10 – having been the only team in the group to topple the Irish giants. Castres remain third on five points with Northampton Saints bringing up the rear with four.

Castres' home form has been excellent throughout the opening half of the season – they haven't lost at the Stade Pierre-Antoine since their defeat to this season's TOP 14 surprise package La Rochelle on 3 September.

And since then, Castres have strung together six home wins on the trot, including five in their domestic league, as well as the 41-7 demolition of the Saints on 22 October in Round 2. The hosts will fancy their chances for redemption, knowing Montpellier don't travel well.

Jake White's outfit are the only side to lose to Northampton in the pool, and have lost four games on the road this season. Combined with Castres' superb run of form at home, this could very well be the game that blows Pool Four wide open.

Teams:

Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Julien Caminati, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Steve Mafi, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Victor Moreaux, 4 Loïc Jacquet, 3 Damien Tussac, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Mihaita Lazar.

Replacements: 16 Brice Mach, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Thibault Lassale, 20 Alexandre Bias, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Julien Dumora, 23 Pierre Berard.

Montpellier:15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Joe Tomane, 12 Alexandre Dumoulin, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic White, 8 Akapusi Qera (captain), 7 Kélian Galletier, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Nicholaas Van Rensburg, 4 Konstantine Mikautadze, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.

Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Antoine Guillamon, 19 Paul Willemse, 20 Antoine Battut, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Henry Immelman, 23 Yvan Reilhac.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Assistant referees: Peter Allan (England), Paul Dix (England)

TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

ASM Clermont Auvergne v Ulster

(Stade Marcel-Michelin – Kick-off: 16.05; 15.05 GMT)

Ulster ace Charles Piutau says he is relishing the chance to take on Clermont Auvergne in their European Champions Cup encounter in France.

The Irish province will be hoping to make it back-to-back Pool Five wins against Clermont after claiming a famous 39-32 success in Belfast last weekend.

A second victory in eight days could see Ulster top the pool going into 2017, if Bordeaux-Begles fail to beat Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

New Zealand fullback Piutau said: "Clermont's stadium is one of the best places to play rugby and I'd love to experience that. It's going to be a hostile crowd, but that's what rugby is about. Hopefully, we can put in a good performance."

Ulster sit joint second with Bordeaux in Pool Five, and they have transferred their excellent Pro12 form to Europe.

The Ulstermen have won two games on the bounce, and will look to extend their run at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin on Sunday.

Piutau, who scored a try in their bonus-point victory over Clermont, reckons European rugby is a step-up.

He explained: "You've got to play against quality sides like Clermont, a big French team like that.

"There's a lot on the line for us in the European games and the intensity, speed and quality of players is definitely a step-up."

Ulster star Iain Henderson put in a man of the match performance against 2015 Champions Cup runners-up Clermont and wants a repeat on Sunday. Henderson, 24, like Piutau, scored in the tight affair.

The Ireland international added: "Having lost in France last time out, every game is a crunch game. We will look forward to going out there.

"Hats off to Clermont – just look at how many points they scored against us. That's something we need to try and stop [in France], but they are a great attacking side."

Teams:

Clermont: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Nick Abendanon, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly (captain), 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Viktor Kolelishvili, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphaël Chaume.

Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Michael Simutoga, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Peceli Yato, 21 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 22 Patricio Fernández, 23 Aurélien Rougerie.

Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Peter Browne, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Kyle McCall.

Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Darren Cave, 23 Jacob Stockdale.

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini (Italy), Simone Boaretto (Italy)

TMO: Stefano Pennè (Italy)

Sale Sharks v Saracens

(AJ Bell Stadium – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)

Saracens will join the mighty Munster sides of 2005-2007 if they can beat Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium in Round Four to extend their unbeaten run in the Champions Cup to 13 games.

You have to go back to the 13-9 defeat to ASM Clermont Auvergne in the 2015 semi-finals for the last time Mark McCall's men were beaten. They marched to their first title last season with a perfect record of nine wins and have moved five points clear at the top of Pool Three this term with three more wins.

McCall was pleased with the six tries his side scored in a 50-3 home win in Round 3, describing the performance as "really professional in tough conditions". More of the same will be required at a venue where they were 28-13 winners in the Premiership last month.

Sale have yet to win post a pool win and are on a run of 14 successive defeats in the Champions Cup. Director of rugby Steve Diamond is hoping to blood new rugby league recruit Denny Solomona and will be looking for a much improved performance after seeing his side receive three yellow cards at Allianz Park last weekend.

"We want a result. We owe it to ourselves, to the coaches, and especially to the fans. Hopefully this weekend is the start of getting back on track," said Sale Sharks centre Sam Tuitupou.

"It's all about the performance this week. The scoreboard didn't reflect it, but I think some of our boys played well last week

"Saracens are a world class team and they were made to work hard for each try they scored. We had a lot of young boys getting their opportunity, and they made Saracens work hard."

Teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Josh Charnley, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 James Mitchell, 8 TJ Ioane, 7 Magnus Lund (captain), 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison.

Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 James Flynn, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 David Seymour, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Mark Jennings, 23 Tom Arscott.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Nathan Earle.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Jonathan Peak (Ireland)

TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Sources: Agence France-Presse & @ChampionsCup