English heavyweights Saracens and Leicester could secure European Champions Cup quarter-final places if they maintain their unbeaten records on Saturday. Victory for Saracens over Ulster would guarantee they finish top of Pool 1 prior to next week’s trip to four-time champions Toulouse.
Leicester, meanwhile, will progress as Pool 4 winners if they beat Italian strugglers Treviso at Welford Road and principal rivals Stade Francais lose against Munster in Limerick.
With England’s other four Champions Cup challengers – Wasps, Bath, Northampton and Exeter – also still in the quarter-final mix, it sets up an enthralling final two weekends of group stage action.
Team News | Here is your @Saracens side to face @UlsterRugby at @AllianzPark this Saturday pic.twitter.com/KfIvskmGbk
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) January 15, 2016Saracens rugby director Mark McCall is confident his players will show an immediate response after suffering a first defeat of the season in 13 European and Premiership starts when Harlequins toppled them last Saturday.
“This group of players in the past has been pretty good at dealing with the odd setback,” McCall said. “We’ve got a big game to get our teeth stuck into against Ulster. They have players all over the field who are capable of winning games on both the domestic and international stage.”
“In the past few seasons, Ulster have always been tough opponents for us, and they have made some real strides under Les Kiss in the last four or five weeks.”
Meanwhile, centre Manu Tuilagi makes his first start for 15 months after recovering from a serious groin injury when Leicester tackle Treviso, the only team in this season’s top-flight European competition without a point.
Bath tackle Leinster in Dublin on Saturday knowing that victory would keep alive their hopes of progressing from Pool 5, prior to hosting Toulon next weekend.
Bath head coach Mike Ford, who has retained the starting line-up on duty for last Sunday’s 12-9 defeat in Toulon, said: “We have nine points and two matches left to play. We can still qualify, but we have to win our last two games.”
And Exeter must beat Bordeaux-Begles away from home to keep themselves on a quarter-final course from Pool 2.
“We are in a very competitive pool,” Exeter coach Rob Baxter said. “All we have to look at is what we can do, go over there and play with great energy and in a way that wins the game.”
