Pool 1
Leicester Tigers v Glasgow Warriors, Welford road, 5.30pm - Live BT Sports
Not the best place to be going in need of victory to reach the knockout stages as one of the three best runners-up. But that’s precisely what Gregor Townsend’s fully stocked Scotland XV must do if they are to make the Champions Cup quarters for the first time and before Townsend moves upstairs to the Scotland national side this summer.
Leicester, under the complete control of Aaron Mauger since Richard Cockerill was sacked, were trounced in Paris last week but, like the beating suffered in Limerick, they are expected to maintain a certain intensity in front of their people.
That could prove Glasgow’s undoing, that and the brilliant Munster job last weekend.
LEICESTER TIGERS: Matthew Tait; Adam Thompstone, Peter Betham, Jack Roberts, Tom Brady; Freddie Burns, Ben Youngs; Greg Bateman, Tom Youngs, Dan Cole; Ed Slater, Michael Fitzgerald; Mike Williams, Lachlan McCaffrey, Luke Hamilton. Replacements: Harry Thacker, Ellis Genge, Pat Cilliers, Dom Barrow, William Evans, Sam Harrison, Owen Williams, Matt Smith.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Mark Bennett, Alex Dunbar, Lee Jones; Finn Russell, Ali Price; Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson; Tim Swinson, Jonny Gray; Robert Harley, Ryan Wilson, Josh Strauss. Replacements: Pat MacArthur, Alex Allan, D'Arcy Rae, Brian Alainu'uese, Chris Fusaro, Henry Pyrgos, Nick Grigg, Pete Murchie.
Referee: M Raynal (France). Pool 3
Saracens v RC Toulon, Allianz Park, 3.15pm - Live BT Sport
Unmissable. The value of victory here would not be lost on Mark McCall’s champions; they can bury their major rivals and thereby take a significant step towards retaining the Champions Cup. Or Toulon can, conceivably however unlikely, muscle them out of a home quarter-final with a bonus point win.
Either way, a massive, bone shuddering contest is guaranteed with Toulon's need greater as their very survival, and a few jobs, are on the line. That fear, the boot of Leigh Halfpenny and nous of Matt Giteau can end Saracens' 11 game European win record at home.
SARACENS: Alex Lozowski; Chris Ashton, Marcelo Bosch, Nick Tompkins, Sean Maitland; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth; Richard Barrington, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis; Maro Itoje, Jim Hamilton; Michael Rhodes, Schalk Burger, Jackson Wray. Replacements: Schalk Brits, Titi Lamositele, Juan Figallo, Will Skelton, Kelly Brown, Ben Spencer, Tim Streather, Nathan Earle.
RC TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny; Josua Tuisova, Mathieu Bastareaud, Ma'a Nonu, Bryan Habana; Matt Giteau, Sebastien Tillous-Borde; Laurent Delboulbès, Guilhem Guirado, Levan Chilachava, Mamuka Gorgodze, Romain Taofifenua; Juan Smith, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Duane Vermeulen. Replacements: Jean-Charles Orioli, Xavier Chiocci, Marcel Van Der Merwe, Liam Gill, Jocelino Suta, Pierre Bernard, Jonathan Pelissie, Samu Manoa.
Referee: N Owens (Wales).
Sale Sharks v Scarlets, AJ Bell Stadium, 3.15pm
This game lost its relevance when Chris Ashton crossed for a late Saracens try last Sunday. AJ MacGinty plays 10 for Sale while former Leinster lock Tadhg Beirne continues his impressive season in the Scarlets engine room.
SALE SHARKS: Sale Sharks: Michael Haley; Paulo Odogwu, Will Addison, Mark Jennings, Josh Charnley; AJ MacGinty, Mike Phillips; Ross Harrison, Rob Webber, Kieran Longbottom; George Nott, Andrei Ostrikov; Cameron Neild, Magnus Lund, Laurence Pearce. Replacements: Neil Briggs, James Flynn, Halani Aulika, Jon Mills, Ben Curry, James Mitchell, Sam James, Thomas Curry.
SCARLETS: Aled Thomas; DTH van der Merwe, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Steff Evans; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Rob Evans, Ryan Elias, Samson Lee; Jake Ball, Tadhg Beirne; Aaron Shingler, James Davies, John Barclay. Replacements: Emyr Phillips, Wyn Jones, Werner Kruger, Tom Price, Will Boyde, Aled Davies, Tom Williams, Steff Hughes.
Referee: P Gauzere (France).
Pool 5
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Exeter Chiefs Stade Marcel Michelin, 1pm - Live BT Sport
Clermont’s need to secure a home quarter-final should be enough to deny what would be a dramatic upset as Exeter come with the faintest chance of reaching the last eight. Ulster really should have beaten this well structured English club last week but this impregnable Michelin citadel so rarely allows Clermont slip up at this juncture.
ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE: Scott Spedding; Noa Nakaitaci, Remi Lamerat, Wesley Fofana, Nick Abendanon; Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra; Raphael Chaume, Benjamin Kayser, Aaron Jarvis; Arthur Iturria, Sébastien Vahaamahina; Peceli Yato, Alexandre Lapandry, Fritz Lee. Replacements: John Ulugia, Vincent Debaty, Davit Zirakashvili, Paul Jedrasiak, Damien Chouly, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Aurélien Rougerie, Alivereti Raka.
EXETER CHIEFS: Phil Dollman; Olly Woodburn, Michele Campagnaro, Ollie Devoto, James Short; Gareth Steenson, Jack Maunder; Ben Moon, Jack Yeandle, Tom Francis; Ollie Atkins, Jonny Hill; Don Armand, Kai Horstmann, Tom Waldrom. Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Moray Low, Harry Williams, Damian Welch, Tom Johnson, Stu Townsend, Ian Whitten, Joe Simmonds.
Referee: A Brace (Ireland).
Sunday Pool 2 Zebre v Wasps, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 3.15pm
The perfect destination when needing a mountain of tries. Wasps all but certain victory will make them Pool 2 champions unless Connacht somehow shock the rugby world, again. This one finished 82-14 in October. Solid chance of this sensational Wasps backline, which includes Elliot Daly and Christian Wade, producing similar numbers.
Marty Moore starts at tighthead again.
ZEBRE: Kurt Baker; Lloyd Greeff, Mattia Bellini, Tommaso Boni, Guglielmo Palazzani; Carlo Canna, Marcello Violi; Andrea Lovotti, Oliviero Fabiani, Dario Chistolini; Josh Furno, George Biagi; Maxime Mbanda, Johan Meyer, Derick Minnie. Replacements: Tommaso D'Apice, Bruno Postiglioni, Pietro Ceccarelli, Gideon Koegelenberg, Federico Ruzza, Carlo Engelbrecht, Serafin Bordoli, Dries van Schalkwyk.
WASPS: Kurtley Beale; Christian Wade, Elliot Daly, Kyle Eastmond, Frank Halai; Danny Cipriani, Dan Robson; Simon McIntyre, Tommy Taylor, Marty Moore; Joe Launchbury, Matt Symons; Ashley Johnson, James Haskell, Guy Thompson. Replacements: Nathan Hughes, Matt Mullan, Phil Swainston, James Gaskell, Thomas Young, Craig Hampson, Jimmy Gopperth, Josh Bassett.
Referee: D Wilkinson (Ireland).
