With Christmas a mere week away it's time to find out which clubs will be turkeys in this season's Heineken Cup, and which ones have more than just an illusory sparkle.

Of France's six representatives only Brive go into this weekend's fixtures with pride alone to play for, although it remains to be seen how many of the other five can progress to the quarter-finals.

Biarritz are best placed with a nine point lead in Pool 2 as they head to Newport, while Stades Toulousain and Francais are also handily placed as they enter round four. The Paris club entertain Ulster this weekend looking to avenge last weekend's ill-tempered 23-13 defeat, and the game breaks new ground by being hosted at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. Belgium thus becomes the 10th country to host a Heineken Cup match as Max Guazzini continues his inexorable enlarging of the Stade Francais franchise.

Heineken Cup Pools & Fixtures

Three-times champions Stade Toulousain are also out for revenge as they welcome Cardiff Blues to the snow-bound south west of France, while Clermont Auvergne travel to last year's runners-up Leicester Tigers knowing that their future progress could depend on the result.

French champions Perpignan have to wait until Sunday for their chance to beat Munster in Pool 1 as they seek to build on last week's narrow 24-23 defeat, when they actually outscored their Irish hosts by three tries to nil.

It all adds up to a riveting set of fixtures, especially when Friday's heavy snowfall in France is also taken into account. Will it be a chill wind blowing through French rugby come Sunday evening, or has the dip in temperature set up a classic platform for serving up a dish or two of rugby revenge?

Newport Gwent Dragons v Biarritz
Biarritz go into this match nine points clear of the Dragons in Pool 2 and as the only club still boasting a 100% win record in this season's Heineken Cup. They also trounced the Welsh side 49-13 in France last weekend, but injuries have robbed them of two of their try-scorers in that match - England World Cup winner Iain Balshaw, who scored twice, and American speedster Takudzwa Ngwenya, the second highest try-scorer in the competition with four. Nicolas Brusque comes in for Balshaw, while England international Ayoola Erinle comes in for Ngwenya on the wing as the 2006 runners-up shuffle their pack. Trevor Hall has also come in for Florian Faure, with Samiu Vahafolau switching to number eight. Romain Terrain is the starting hooker, while tenacious scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili - 50 Heineken points already this season - will continue his half-back partnership with Julien Peyrelongue. Damien Traille and former rugby league star Karmichael Hunt occupy the centres, with Magnus Lund sharing the flanking duties with Hall. Another win here would virtually confirm their quarter-final slot, and confidence must be high after last weekend's impressive showing.

But Dragons captain Tom Willis is promising a tougher encounter in Newport. "We were disappointed with the way we played and I don't think we did ourselves justice, and it was no reflection of where we are at. I don't think we will see that again this Friday night because we have had the kick up the backside we need. We know we area good team, we are playing at home and hopefully that will bring out the best of us," said the Kiwi. Those words sound more measured than Joe Bearman's, whose quote "I don't think Biarritz are strong enough to win the Cup" will act like a red rag to the Basque bulls. One can't help wondering about the wisdom of Bearman's words, especially in light of last week's 49-13 drubbing. The Dragons will be without injured trio Dan Lydiate (hamstring), Luke Charteris (back) and Jason Tovey (ankle).
Verdict: Biarritz win

Stade Toulousain v Cardiff Blues
Stade Toulousain may have lost in Cardiff last weekend - for the second successive season - but they remain top of Pool 5 and a point clear of Sale Sharks and the Blues going into Round 4. For Guy Noves' team this is the first of two must-win home games - they entertain bottom-placed Harlequins in the next round - and the three-times champions will be hell-bent on trying to make amends for the Welsh defeats. One of many significant factors about both of those encounters is that there has not been a try in either game, a statistic that Stade will surely put under severe pressure on Saturday afternoon. Their away form may have been woeful this season - with seven defeats from 10 on the road in all competitions - but their home form has remained constant (if not always spectacular) with seven wins and a draw in their eight outings. This match is being played at the city's football ground - due to a larger capacity - but Stade are old hands at playing there and thrashed an inexperienced Sale outfit 36-17 on their last appearance there. Winger Vincent Clerc has been in splendid form of late and could add to his competition record of 30 tries should the hosts generate enough clean ball. They also have a 3-0 home record against Cardiff in the Heineken Cup. Noves named his team on Friday and opted for Clément Poitrenaud at full-back instead of Maxime Médard, and Yves Donguy on the wing ahead of Cédric Heymans. Florian Fritz and Yannick Jauzion continue in the centres, with David Skrela at fly-half and Frédéric Michalak at scrum-half in the continued absence of injured duo Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and and Byron Kelleher.

Cardiff's smothering defence has caused Stade all sorts of problems in the last two games between these sides and the home team will have to be more creative and clinical to finally break that deadlock. Nothing but a win will be acceptable for Toulouse, and the game could turn on how the opening 10 minutes pan out. If Stade make a positive start and grab the early initiative then it could be a long afternoon for the Welsh side, but if Cardiff can hold them at bay then frustration and pressure will surely mount for Noves' team. Cardiff winger Tom James was ruled out through injury, with Richard Mustoe starting in his place.
Verdict: Stade Toulousain win

London Irish v Brive
With three defeats from three - including two at home - Brive have absolutely no chance of progressing in this year's Heineken Cup, a fact acknowledged this week by Fabrice Estebanez. "The only way for us to remain in the Heineken Cup next year - and that's what we want - is to qualify through the Top 14, so we'll focus on that and get the results we need," he told ercrugby.com. Straight-talking Estebanez admitted Brive had been found wanting on their return to Europe's premier club competition, but insisted it wasn't all doom and gloom for the former champions. "Despite the results you get, you can only get some positive out of the whole experience because it is a great way to learn and improve your game. You build up confidence and experience and it's a good thing for the future," he reasoned. Banned duo Guillaume Ribes and Arnaud Méla begin their playing suspensions, with England hooker Steve Thompson starting in Ribes' place. Nicolas Jeanjean gets the nod at full-back with Luciano Orquera coming in at fly-half for the rested Estebanez. Jamie Noon returns at outside centre after sitting out last week's match, while Jean-Baptiste Péjoine is at scrum-half in place of Shaun Perry, who is on the subs' bench. England centre Riki Flutey is back in training after his lengthy lay-off, but doesn't make the match-day squad.

London Irish, who harbour genuine ambitions in this tournament, do however welcome back another England international on the comeback trail, in the shape of highly-rated full-back Delon Armitage - although he must start on the bench.
Verdict: London Irish win

Stade Francais v Ulster Rugby
Stade Francais coach Jacques Delmas has made several team changes - some forced, some out of choice - for the Paris team's 'home' game with Ulster. Julien Dupuy and David Attoub are both unavailable after being suspended by the club in light of the eye-gouging allegations which marred last weekend's 23-13 defeat in Ireland. Delmas has also jettisoned James Haskell, Ollie Phillips, Benjamin Kayser and Geoffroy Messina as Stade go in search of the win required to maintain their qualification hopes. Stade are used to taking their bigger home games across Paris to the Stade de France, but Saturday's match is being taken further afield than that with Max Guazzini now seeking to spread his team's appeal across the border into Belgium. The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels will host the game, with a sellout 50,000 crowd expected as Belgium becomes the 10th country to hold a Heineken Cup match.

Haskell, who is on the bench, said last week's defeat had given the Stade squad all the motivation they need ahead of this weekend's game. "If anything this defeat will give the players an added urgency and desire to make sure that we don't lose in Brussels," he said. "Now we've got to go to Brussels and put on a performance. As a team we're used to playing games at the Stade de France but it doesn't matter where we play. It's about turning up and playing. We've got to make sure that when we go to Brussels, starting on Wednesday, we go there with all guns blazing because we can't afford to give any more momentum away," added the England international. "We need to improve our ball retention, it's as simple as that. I don't know what the stat is for the amount of turnovers we gave away, but it was pretty horrendous. Half of them probably weren't even forced." Scotland international Hugo Southwell starts at full-back, Julien Arias and Mark Gasnier on the wings, Mathieu Bastareaud and Guillaume Bousses in the centres, and Lionel Beauxis and Noel Oelschig as half-backs.

Ulster's line-up also shows some changes, with Timoci Nagusa starting on the wing, while Andrew Trimble switches to accompany skipped Paddy Wallace in the centres. Fit-again BJ Botha returns to the front row, and Willie Faloon starts at openside as Declan Fitzpatrick and David Pollock drop down to the bench. Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin: "We all know how good Stade are and towards the end of the game last week, when we basically stopped playing having gained a 23-6 lead, they came back at us. This is something we have to be aware of this weekend. But we can also go there with belief, confidence and pride after our overall performance against them," said Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin. "We can now go to Brussels with great passion and faith in our ability as to what we can achieve. The good thing is we have kept our own destiny in our own hands."
Verdict: Stade Francais win

Leicester Tigers v Clermont Auvergne
Leicester Tigers have had their Welford Road pitch covered since midweek in anticipation of the Saturday's arctic temperatures, and have also installed a balloon under which air heaters should hopefully prevent a frozen pitch. David Clayton, Leicester's managing director, is confident the match will go ahead as scheduled and pointed to the club's record of having just one home match postponed due to adverse weather in the last 10 years. Should the game go ahead Leicester will be out to avenge last weekend's 40-30 defeat in France. Three late tries narrowed the eventual gap but Clermont's 40 points was the most Leicester had ever conceded in a Heineken Cup tie. Tigers' Ben Kay admitted they lost the battle up front. "In Clermont, we got caught by a more physical team than we are used to in the Guinness Premiership. Week in, week out, we are used to pushing the scrum around, but we came across a team who we were not doing that too," he told the Leicester Mercury. "We didn't match them physically over there, but I can almost put my house on the fact we will match them this week," he added. Leicester have recalled Dan Hipkiss (in the centres) and Harry Ellis (to the bench), while Clermont have also made several changes. Injured Fijian winger Napolioni Nalaga - who scored twice at the Stade Marcel Michelin - makes way for skipper Aurélien Rougerie, with Sérémaia Bai coming into the centres alongside Italian Gonzalo Canale. Alexandre Lapandry's injury also means a re-jig in the back row, with Julien Bonnaire switching to blindside flanker, Alexandre Audebert named at openside and Elvis Vermeulen in at number eight. In addition, Lionel Faure starts as loosehead prop, while Julien Pierre is named in the second row. Morgan Parra and Brock James continue as the half-back pairing, while Jason White is on the bench with Kevin Senio, Martin Scelzo and Brent Russell.
Verdict: Leicester Tigers win

Perpignan v Munster
Perpignan play host to Irish giants Munster on Sunday in the final match of round four, and what a game it promises to be. Last Friday the Catalans somehow contrived to lose 24-23 despite outscoring their hosts by three tries to nil, and as long as they can curb their ill-discipline - which proved so costly in terms of penalties conceded - then they have nothing to fear. Perpignan have only ever lost two Heineken Cup ties at the intimidating Stade Aimé Giral and last week's performance will surely have given them the confidence to go out and claim victory on Sunday. Despite last week's result they remain third in Pool 1, three points behind the Northampton Saints and four adrift of Munster. Their approach to Sunday's match must initially start with trying to secure the win, but if they can get that in hand then they will also seek to add an attacking bonus, while simultaneously trying to deny Munster a defensive bonus. Their home form this season suggests that is eminently feasible, but they could probably have done without young flanker Yohan Vivalda handing the Irish all the motivation they need following some naive comments to the press. Vivalda was clearly in buoyant mood after scoring the game's opening try - in only his 10th senior match - but to insult Munster by saying it was like "playing against an academy team" might come back to haunt him. Vivalda makes the starting line-up again on Sunday, with Phil Burger coming in for Jérôme Porical at full-back after his stunning second-half try. David Marty and Maxime Mermoz are again paired in the centres with David Melé and Gavin Hume at scrum-half and fly-half respectively. Prop Nicolas Mas skippers the side.

Munster coach Tony McGahan has given his side the opportunity to ram Vivalda's words back down his throat by keeping faith with his team from last week. Hooker Jerry Flannery was ruled out after undergoing exploratory surgery on his achilles during the week, but captain Paul O'Connell remained in cautionary positive mood heading into the crucial pool match. "I think we are happy and disappointed with last week's game; we played with a lot of intensity and created a lot of opportunities, but at times we're not getting in to the right positions to take advantage of them. We just need a bit more accuracy to go along with the intensity we're playing at. We just can't concede three tries in a competition like this, and we certainly can't let it happen this weekend," he warned. "Perpignan have an incredible home record there and it's one of the few places Munster have been badly beaten in the Heineken Cup in recent years." he added.
Verdict: Perpignan win