High flying Ulster Rugby will be looking to really secure their spot as Pool 4 leaders when they face Northampton Saints in a mouth-watering clash at Franklin's Gardens on Friday night.
Ulster, who are the current Pro12 leaders, have rattled off impressive victories over Castres Olympique at Ravenhill and Glasgow Warriors in Scotland and are one of only seven clubs who can boast two from two so far in this season's tournament.
For their part the Saints will be looking to bounce back from their 21-16 away defeat to Castres Olympique in their last Pool game after their hard fought victory over the Scots at home in their tournament opener.
The English side are third in the Premiership but will be wary of the threat posed by a confident Ulster side after the Saints lost twice to Munster in the Pool stages last season. Those defeats saw the English side fail to qualify for last season's quarter-finals.
The Belfast-based side know a victory over the Saints will put a marker down for the rest of Europe and be a major boost for their bid to reach their third quarter-final in three years.
They will be hoping Ireland wing Craig Gilroy, who made such an on his impressive try-scoring debut for Ireland in the 46-24 victory against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, gives the visitors a real boost.
The 21-year-old also scored three tries against Fiji in an uncapped international the previous weekend.
Ulster are unbeaten and in the driving seat in the Pool and will be looking to record their 50th victory in the Heineken Cup. They have won 49 of their 105 games in the tournament so far.
Both sides are former winners of the tournament, with the Belfast side winning in 1999 and Saints in 2000, and have reached the last two finals only to be beaten by reigning champions, Leinster.
But Saints will be looking to rid themselves of their Irish bogey and poor record against sides from across the Irish sea, having lost eight of their 12 matches against Irish provinces.
Match Facts
• Northampton fare worse against teams from Ireland than any other nation in this tournament. They have lost 8 of 12 matches against Irish outfits.
• Northampton have conceded turnovers on 38 occasions this season, more than any other team in the Heineken Cup.
• Saints' Ken Pisi is the leading metre maker in the tournament so far, carrying the ball for 272 metres in his two appearances.
• Ulster are chasing their 50th win overall in the Heineken Cup. They have won 49 of 105 contests to date.
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