Munster and Saracens collide in potential Pool 1 back-to-back deciders in December with Munster defending a 3-0 tournament record against the English club.
And Munster head coach Rob Penney is adamant that despite the Round 1 defeat at Racing Metro 92 they are masters of their own destiny despite being three points adrift of the Premiership side.
Munster took maximum points from their 33-0 Thomond Park triumph over Edinburgh Rugby and will be back at the venue when Saracens are the visitors on December 8 in Round 3.
"The critical thing is we have some massive games coming against Saracens and are still masters of our own destiny," he said.
"If we had the bonus-point or not we would still have to beat Saracens - though I would obviously rather have it than not have it.
"They are looming as critical matches and whoever dominates those will be in a pretty good place post those events.
"Then there are the other two return matches and those matches are also critical to the outcome of the Pool.
"Hopefully there will be a rip-roaring crowd and plenty of support here for the first leg because we are just one game away from leap-frogging them so these games are very important.
"Saracens are a very competent side, stacked with a lot of experience and talent, so it will be an interesting experience for some of our more inexperienced guys to nullify what they bring.
"But we still have lots and lots to do. The most pleasing thing about today was the way the boys embraced their work and got stuck in. They were hurting after last week.
"However, the unforced error rate was far too high and the areas we need to improve on are our ball security and the ability to capitalise on space when it is provided to us."
