Heineken Cup previews

Compiled by JOHN O'SULLIVAN

Saturday

BENETTON TREVISO v LEICESTER TIGERS, Stadio Comunale di Monigo (1.30)

THE Italian side have already demonstrated in this season’s Magners League they are a tough nut to crack at home. The Tigers welcome back captain Geordan Murphy and outhalf Toby Flood for a potentially tricky assignment. The English club’s form has been mixed to date but they should be good enough to edge this one.

BENETTON TREVISO: L McLean; L Nitoglia, T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, A Vilk; K Burton, F Semenzato; I Fernandez Rouyet, L Ghiraldini, L Cittadini; A Pavanello, C van Zyl; R Barbieri, A Zanni, P Derbyshire.

LEICESTER TIGERS: G Murphy; S Hamilton, D Hipkiss, M Smith, A Tuilagi; T Flood, B Youngs; B Stankovich, G Chuter, M Castrogiovanni; E Slater, G Skivington; T Croft, B Woods, T Waldrom.

TOULON v OSPREYS, Stade Felix Mayol (1.30)

FORMER Leinster outhalf Felipe Contepomi and Joe van Niekerk haven’t made the match squad for the home side, while Wales captain Ryan Jones is on the bench for the visitors. Wallaby great George Smith makes his European debut for Toulon. The Ospreys demonstrated last season they have found a bit of steel on the road and might spring a surprise.

TOULON: R Lamont; P Sackey, M Kefu, G Messina, B Lapeyre; J Wilkinson, M Henjak; S Taumoepeau, JC Orioli, D Kubriashvili; D Schofield, C Samson; O Missoup, G Smith, J Fernandez Lobbe.

OSPREYS: L Byrne; T Bowe, A Bishop, J Hook, S Williams; D Biggar, M Phillips; P James, R Hibbard, A Jones; I Gough, A Wyn Jones; J Collins, M Holah, J Thomas.

CLERMONT AUVERGNE v SARACENS, Stade Marcel Michelin (3.30)

ONE glance at the bench of the French champions underlines the strength of their squad and they’re going to need it against a Saracens side that won’t be cowed by the task ahead of them today.

Clermont look to have an edge up front, especially at the lineout. Schalk Brits is arguably the best hooker in the game at the moment but his throwing is a weakness. Saracens might just do enough to sneak a bonus point.

CLERMONT AUVERGNE: A Floch; N Nalaga, A Rougerie, M Joubert, J Malzieu; B James, M Parra; T Domingo, T Paulo, D Zirakashvili; T Privat, J Cudmore; J Bonnaire, A Lapandry, S Lauaki.

SARACENS: A Goode; D Strettle, A Powell, B Baritt, C Wyles; D Hougaard, R Wigglesworth; D Carstens, S Brits, C Nieto; S Borthwick, H Vyvyan; J Burger, A Saull, K Brown.

SCARLETS v PERPIGNAN, Parc y Scarlets (3.30, live on Sky Sports)

THE Welsh franchise are without powerful centre Jon Davies and have elected to start Rhys Priestland at fullback. Perpignan have decided to leave playmaker Manny Edmonds on the bench in favour of the more muscular Gavin Hume at outhalf. The Scarlets will have to work hard in the tight and if they can establish a platform there they possess the backs to drive that advantage home.

SCARLETS: R Priestland; M Stoddart, G Maule, R King, S Lamont; S Jones, M Roberts; I Thomas, M Rees, R Thomas; L Reed, V Cooper; R McCusker, J Turnbull, D Lyons.

PERPIGNAN: J Porical; A Plante, D Marty, JP Grandclaude, J Candelon; G Hume, F Cazenave; P Freshwater, C Geli, N Mas; Y Vivalda, R Tchale Watchou; B Guiry, G Britz, D Chouly.

CARDIFF v EDINBURGH, Cardiff City Stadium (5.45)

ANYTHING other than a Cardiff victory would constitute a huge surprise. The Welsh club, even in the absence of standout centre Jamie Roberts, would appear to have too much ability both up front and behind the scrum. Edinburgh might be difficult to break down initially and will certainly put plenty of width on the game but their back five in their back five in the pack look a little lightweight and they may run out of steam.

CARDIFF: B Blair; L Halfpenny, C Laulala, T Shanklin, C Czekaj; D Parks, R Rees; G Jenkins, T Rhys Thomas, F Filise; B Davies; P Tito; M Molitika, M Williams, X Rush.

EDINBURGH: C Paterson; J Thompson, B Cairns, A Grove, T Visser; D Blair, M Blair; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross; S MacLeod, F McKenzie; A MacDonald, R Rennie, R Grant.

Sunday

BATH v BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE, The Recreation Ground (1.0, live on Sky Sports)

LAST season’s beaten European finalists Biarritz start with French internationals Damien Traille, Sylvain Marconnet and Benoit August on the bench. It’s unlikely they’ll adopt an expansive approach, hoping to grind their hosts down up front and let Dimitri Yachvili’s boot keep the scoreboard ticking over. Bath’s style couldn’t offer a greater contrast and provided they maintain structure should win.

BATH: N Abendanon; M Carraro, S Hape, O Barkley, M Banahan; S Vesty, M Claassens; N Catt, P Dixon, D Wilson; S Hooper, D Grewcock; A Beattie, S Taylor, L Watson.

BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE: H Haylett-Petty; T Ngwenya, C Gimenez, M Bond, I Balshaw; J Peyrelongue, D Yachvili; E Coetzee, R Terrain, C Johnstone; M Carizza, E Lund; M Lund, I Harinordoquy, R Lakafia.

TOULOUSE v LONDON WASPS, Stade Municipal, Toulouse (3pm, live on Sky Sports)

A superb game to finish the opening weekend of the tournament. Toulouse may have been stuttering along in the

French Championship but that won’t matter one iota tomorrow as they begin their defence of the

title. Maxime Medard and Louis Picamoles start on the bench. Wasps have kept Ron Webber, Riki Flutey and David Lemi in reserve. Toulouse to win but maybe without a bonus point.

TOULOUSE: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, F Fritz, Y Jauzion, C Heymans; D Skrela, B Kelleher; JB Poux, W Servat, C Johnston; G Lamboley, R Millo-Chluski; Y Nyanga, T Dusautoir, S Sowerby.

LONDON WASPS: M van Gisbergen; R Haughton, B Jacobs, D Waldouck, T Varndell; D Walder, J Simpson; Z Taulafo, J Ward, B Broster; S Shaw, R Birkett; J Worsley, T Rees, A Powell.