Ospreys v Clermont Auvergne
On Friday the Ospreys welcome Clermont Auvergne to the Liberty Stadium with a proud home record against French opposition to protect.
But more importantly their chances of making the knockout stages rest on securing victory over the Top 14 powerhouses - runners-up in this competition last year.
Only four points split the top three teams in the pool and the Ospreys will take much confidence from their 34-29 defeat in France in the reverse fixture before Christmas that saw the Welsh side run in four tries.
This will be their 13th home game for the Welsh side against a Top 14 club and twice Clermont have arrived in Swansea and been sent packing with a loss.
Clermont have won three in a row on the road but have been inconsistent this season - only winning five of their last ten games in all competitions.
This weekend Welshman Jonathan Davies will start in the centres for the clash while the Ospreys welcome back Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.
Not since the 2010/11 season have the Welsh region won three pool games - they will need to equal that total on Friday to stay in contention for the knockout stages for the first time in six years.
Friday, 7:45PM, Liberty Stadium
Ospreys: Daniel Evans; Hanno Dirksen, Jonathan Spratt, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker; Dan Biggar, Brendon Leonard; Paul James, Scott Baldwin, Aaron Jarvis, Lloyd Ashley, Alun-Wyn Jones (c), Sam Underhill, Justin Tipuric, James King
Replacements: Sam Parry, Nicky Smith, Ma'afu Fia , Rory Thornton, Dan Baker, Thomas Habberfield, Sam Davies , Owen Watkin
ASM Clermont Auvergne: Scott Spedding; David Strettle, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Noa Nakaitaci; Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra; Raphael Chaume, Benjamin Kayser, Daniel Kotze, Loic Jacquet, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Damien Chouly (c), Vito Kolelishvili, Fritz Lee
Replacements: John Ulugia, Vincent Debaty, Mickael Simutoga, Paul Jedrasiak, Camille Gerondeau, Ludovic Radosavljevic , Brock James, Albert Vulivuli
Challenge Cup
Edinburgh Rugby v Agen
Agen were promoted back to the Top 14 last season but have struggled on their return - currently sitting bottom of the league table.
That is also the case in Pool 5 of the Challenge Cup and Edinburgh will need to rack up the scores on Friday.
Last season's runners-up are currently in a three-way fight for the top spot in the pool, they will have to get a bonus point at home to try to close the gap on Grenoble - who face London Irish this weekend.
Edinburgh have to travel to Grenoble in round six to complete their pool campaign and are in good form at the moment, particularly at home where they have only lost to Munster since November.
Friday, 19:30, BT Murrayfield Stadium
Edinburgh Rugby: Jack Cuthbert; Damien Hoyland, Michael Allen, Andries Strauss, William Helu; Greig Tonks, Sean Kennedy; Rory Sutherland, Stuart McInally (c), John Andress, Alex Toolis, Ben Toolis, Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury
Replacements: Neil Cochrane, Allan Dell, Simon Berghan, Anton Bresler, Mike Coman, Nathan Fowles, Chris Dean, Dougie Fife
Agen: Benoit Sicart; François Tardieu, Vincent Roux, Pierre Fouyssac, Filipo Nakosi; François Bouvier, Paul Abadie (c); Quentin Bethune, Marc Barthomeuf, Nicolas Chocou, Léo Bastien, Corentin Braendlin, Sione Tau, Denis Marchois, Marc Baget
Replacements: Florian Dufour, Viliamu Afatia, , Felicien Vergnon, Nicolas Gal, Baptiste Cadiou, Clement Darbo, Alban Conduche
Newport Gwent Dragons v Castres Olympique
The Dragons have won every game in this competition this season except for their trip to Castres.
The French side held on for an impressive 32-29 win but will bow out of this year's competition with a defeat at Rodney Parade on Friday night.
The Dragons top the table in Pool 2 and will be very keen to strengthen that position with a victory.
Castres claimed a 30-21 win over Pau in their game last weekend that was re-arragned following the terrorist attacks in Paris in Novemeber.
Victory over Dragons and then Pau are the minimum requirement for them if they want to stand a chance of making the knockout stages but with former All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu on the wing they will always be dangerous.
Friday, 19:45, Rodney Parade
Newport Gwent Dragons: Carl Meyer; Ashton Hewitt, Adam Hughes, Adam Warren, Hallam Amos; Jason Tovey, Sarel Pretorius; Phil Price, Elliot Dee, Brok Harris, Cory Hill, Rynard Landman (c), Lewis Evans, Nic Cudd, Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: T Rhys Thomas, Boris Stankovich, Shaun Knight, Matthew Screech, Ed Jackson, Charlie Davies, Angus O'Brien, Nick Scott
Castres Olympique: Geoffrey Palis; Sitiveni Sivivatu, Thomas Combezou, Romain Cabannes (c), David Smith; Francois Fontaine, Julien Seron; Saimone Taumoepeau, Marc-Antoine Rallier, Lucas Martinez, Christophe Samson, Benjamin Desroche, Yannick Caballero, Ibrahim Diarra, Mathieu Babillot
Replacements: Julien Beziat, Karena Wihongi, Eric Sione, Alexandre Bias, Theo Hannoyer, Rudi Wulf, Remi Lamerat, Benjamin Urdapilleta
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