Pat Lam's men, one of this year's surprise packages, are yet to be outside the top four this season and are unbeaten against the Dragons since 2012.
But Connacht have struggled away from home and are yet to win on the road since scalping Munster in Limerick at the end of November.
Ulster sneaked into pole position with victory against the Dragons in a round 12 replay last Friday and the Irishmen - with only one loss in their last five GUINNESS PRO12 fixtures - host reigning champions Glasgow Warriors on Friday.
Gregor Townsend's charges travel to the Kingspan Stadium, in a replay of last season's semi-final, with a solitary win in their last six matches in all competitions - and their only away victory came against Cardiff Blues in November.
Second-placed Scarlets welcome fifth-placed Edinburgh on Friday with just one loss in their last eight at Parc y Scarlets in the GUINNESS PRO12, including a 21-19 victory over Connacht in January.
Leinster sit third with a game in hand, and despite losing twice in Europe, they are unbeaten at the RDS Arena in almost a year and have won all six of their previous encounters with Zebre with a bonus point on five of those occasions.
Zebre though will be buoyed by victories in their last two away games, against Benetton Treviso and Worcester Warriors in the European Challenge Cup.
Treviso are 12 points adrift of Zebre at the foot of the table and are without a win in this season as they welcome Cardiff Blues to the Stadio Monigo on Saturday.
The Italian side's last victory did come against the Blues in 2015, but Cardiff are unbeaten in the GUINNESS PRO12 since November and will be hopeful of a fifth successive victory in the competition for the first time since 2010.
It is sixth versus seventh in Cork as Munster look to push for play-off contention against the Ospreys on Sunday.
The Munstermen have lost their last two home games at Thomond Park, but are unbeaten for three years in Cork.
Although Ospreys are unbeaten away from home since November, they face an uphill task at Irish Independent Park, where they have not won since 2004.
To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
63x46.png){kind=logo}