Perpignan's star fly half Dan Carter says James Hook is already "one of the best 10s in the world"
Carter announced his arrival in the tournament with a Heineken Cup man of the match award winning performance against Leicester Tigers last month but will play no part in this weekend's proceedings after suffering an Achilles injury last weekend.
And the teams suffered mixed fortunes at the weekend, the Ospreys going down 25-21 at home to Munster and conceding top spot in the Magners League while Perpignan blitzed Bourgoin 40-14 to cement themselves in third spot in the Top 14.
"James Hook is a great player and he has shown on occasions just what he's really capable of - he's got real talent and is capable of turning games," said Carter, who has rattled up 879 points in 59 Tests for New Zealand.
"He is very skilful and a huge attacking player and I am looking forward to lining up against him again. We've played against each other a couple of times and now he has got a bit of international experience behind him which I'm sure he'll draw on for this game.
"On top of that, with the Six Nations a couple of weeks out I'm sure he's going to be looking to get some individual form going.
"You always want to play against the guys who are best in their position and he's definitely up there as one of the best 10s."
Perpignan's knock-out stages fate rests entirely in others hands, both in and out of their own Pool, with the Ospreys top of the group on 15 points and only a superior overall points difference of 80-55 edging them ahead of Leicester Tigers. The French club are six points adrift in third place.
Perpignan have lost both their matches on the road so far - 15-9 against the Ospreys and 38-27 against the Tigers - but have extended their current winning home run to 14 tournament matches.
The Tigers meet Benetton Treviso at Welford Road on Saturday with the 2001 and 2002 Heineken Cup winners' trip to Wales to meet the Ospreys in Round 6 set to be a huge occasion and potential group decider.
"Saturday's match is obviously a must-win game for us and Perpignan are definitely a competitive side for this competition, we've got a lot of depth in our squad which has really impressed me," said Carter.
"To play in an atmosphere like that is a new experience for me and it's one of the things I really love about European rugby. Supporters in New Zealand are great but they are far more conservative than those over here."
"It was similar in standard to the Super 14 in terms of the intensity and I feel ready for this weekend's game now. I've settled in much more into both the team and the squad and feel very comfortable playing as part of the Perpignan set-up.
"I felt it was really a step up from what I'd been playing in the previous couple of weeks and any club rugby."
