Ulster are second in the conference and appear best placed to challenge the leaders although Leinster have not lost to any Irish province at the RDS since 2013.

Who will claim bragging rights at The Sportsground?

Saturday sees the two sides at the summit of Conference B lock horns as Munster travel to Galway to face Connacht with just one point separating the Irish inter-pro rivals.

With just four points between the top four teams in the conference, every game matters and the winner of this blockbuster tie could well find themselves sitting pretty at the top of the pile come Christmas.

STEAL 🤭

Always protect the ball when Tom Farrell is around 💪

Will @Munsterrugby have learnt their lesson when they travel to @connachtrugby again for #GuinnessPRO14 Round 8? ⚔️#RivalryUnrivalled pic.twitter.com/bZXh58GkPR
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) December 18, 2019

Munster go into the game off the back of a narrow defeat to Saracens in the Champions Cup, while Connacht will be buoyant after downing Gloucester to keep their European challenge alive.

And Andy Friend’s men will be hoping their formidable home record pays dividends having only lost once at The Sportsground in any competition since January (against Leinster in Round 6).

Will the Italian revival pick up momentum?

It’s been a patchy start to the season for both Benetton and Zebre as the two Italian outfits prepare for their first meeting of the season on Saturday at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

With their internationals away, Benetton made an uncertain start to the campaign as they look to build on last season’s Final Series heroics, winning just twice in the Guinness PRO14.

Kieran Crowley’s outfit are currently second-from-bottom in Conference B but they will take plenty of encouragement from ending their wait for a win in Europe by beating Lyon last Saturday.