Biarritz Olympique travel to another inevitable Heineken Cup sell-out at Welford Road on Sunday with inspirational captain Thomas Lievremont back in charge for their make-or-break showdown with double champions Leicester Tigers.
The French club - a point ahead of the Tigers at the top of Pool 1 - have to face Martin Johnson's 2001 and 2002 champions in Round 5 and then host defending cup holders London Wasps in Round 6.
"It's going to be a very difficult game," said the international No 8. "Having beaten London Wasps home and away, Leicester are in a very strong position in the Pool and will no doubt be feeling very confident about the game.
"We are very aware of Leicester's impressive home record. They have a great ground and amazing supporters who give the home team a real boost and create a really intimidating atmosphere for the away side.
"Although we beat Leicester at Biarritz, we feel their performance that day was not up to their usual level.
"They made a lot of handling errors and missed several kicks which they would not normally do and their defence, which is usually so strong, was not as effective as it might have been.
"But instead of concentrating on these obvious problems with their game at Biarritz, we will be watching video footage of the team at their best in order to work out the most effective way to attack them.
"I was disappointed not to have been able to play the home game against Leicester and am very much looking forward to the away leg. This game is obviously very important for us in terms of playing a great side and our quarter-final qualification hopes.
"The loss of Julien Peyrelongue at fly half is a massive blow to us. Although our coaching team have several options to replace him, he is a real playmaker and often changes a game for us.
"Having said all of that I still believe we have it in us to win the game. We may not be the favourites for the match but being the underdogs gives us everything to play for."
