Sale Sharks are out on their own with a maximum 25 points from their five Pool 4 matches - but Montpellier still have the knock-out stages in their sights.
Montpellier host the 2002 and 2005 European Challenge Cup winners in a Pool 4 match on with their only defeat so far the Round 1 49-6 defeat at Edgeley Road.
"Obviously this match is massively important to us," said Director of Rugby Didier Nourault. "We know that we cannot pass Sale and win the Pool, but the possibility of getting through to the quarter-finals as a runner up is very possible and we are looking for the win in order to take the position.
"In the first round, we were disappointed to come away from Sale with nothing. We stayed in the game for 50 minutes and were competitive until the last quarter when they got away from us.
"If we are going to beat them here this weekend, we have to try and push our performance up to 80 minutes and focus on the positives from the first half of our earlier encounter with them this season.
"The level of the game against Bayonne in Round 5 was not what we were expecting.
"Bayonne seemed to have less ambition than they normally would which prevented a great rugby match. Having said that, I'm pleased with the way we stuck to our game plan and did what was necessary to get the win.
"Our kicking game and our tight and open play were all very good and I feel that we progressed as a team even during that one match.
"In terms of strengths, Sale have the fortune to have a fantastic strength in their pack and great pace in their backs. I know there is a lot of talk about Chabal but it is the tight five - and particularly the front row - who give him the platform he needs in order to perform.
"They have a very strong scrum and we have to be competitive there to have a chance of winning this game. They punished our forwards in the scrum in Round 1 and we have to be ready to meet that challenge this weekend.
"The performance of our back row will be the key to us winning this game. Sale have a set of very fast backs and, once they have broken through the line, they are pretty much impossible to catch.
"We have to make our first time tackles and our flankers in particular will have to try and stop them bringing the backs into play. This is possible, and we want to get the win on our home ground, but it's going to be tough."
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