As the Champions Cup pool stages come to an exciting conclusion this weekend, all eyes will be on Belfast on Saturday where Ulster can guarantee a quarter-final place for the seventh time with victory over Bath.

Sitting pretty as Conference A’s second-placed side in the Championship, the Irishmen are looking to boost their credentials on the continent too and could still leapfrog Clermont into Pool 3’s top spot.

Despite having already been shown the competition’s exit door with five defeats from five, Bath will undoubtedly put up a stern fight with their attention turned to establishing some momentum ahead of their Premiership return.

Team news

Dan McFarland has made just one change to the side defeated by Clermont last week, with Tom O’Toole – who was this week named in Ireland’s Six Nations squad – coming in at tighthead.

Jack McGrath and Rob Herring join O’Toole in the front row, while Alan O’Connor, skipper Iain Henderson, Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee complete the pack.

🤔 What will it take for Ulster to qualify for the @ChampionsCup quarter-finals?

Well, a win over Bath at @KingspanStadium on Saturday would do it, but here is some more information ⤵️https://t.co/ap0txwleC8
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) January 15, 2020

In the backs, full-back Will Addison is joined in the back three by Robert Baloucoune and Jacob Stockdale on the wings, while Luke Marshall and Stuart McCloskey start in midfield alongside half-back pairing John Cooney and Billy Burns.

Bath have rung the changes for their trip to Belfast, with seven players coming into the XV following the 25-19 defeat to Harlequins last time out.

Ruaridh McConnochie, Tom Homer, Ollie Fox, Beno Obano, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill and skipper Charlie Ewels all return.

Form

Ulster have been one of the standout teams at home and in Europe this season and having won 12 of their last 13 home games in the Champions Cup, will be understandably confident of victory here.

Indeed, the ¹⁹⁹⁸⁄₉₉ champions have won each of their five clashes with Bath in the competition, albeit the last three victories have all been by fewer than five points.

The hosts go into the clash second in the Pool 3 standings, while Bath lie at the foot of the table with just four bonus points to their name.

The Blue, Black and White have lost their last six games – their worst run in European competition – but will be determined to lay down a marker with what would be an impressive victory here.

What they said

Despite acknowledging that Bath have nothing to play for, hooker Rob Herring – whose impressive form recently secured him a place in Andy Farrell’s Six Nations squad – is still expecting a tough game.

He said: “I feel they maybe rested a few players last week so they’re going to come fully loaded, and a fully-loaded Bath side is full of stars and players who can attack from anywhere.

“They’re going to throw the ball around, so we need to keep the ball tight and if they’re going to play loose, we need to force some errors and then capitalise on that.

“I think it’s probably still mathematically possible to get a home quarter-final, but the priority is to get the win and then we can see what happens.”

Key stat

Bath have lost eight of their nine away games in the Champions Cup against Irish provinces, a solitary victory against Leinster in ²⁰⁰⁵⁄₀₆ the exception.

Prediction

Bath have made vast changes to their line-up for this fixture and the freedom of having nothing to play for could aid their chances of causing an upset at the Kingspan.

But in truth, Ulster should prove too strong for a side that have largely failed to find total rhythm this season, particularly in Europe.

With a home quarter-final still a possibility, expect the home side to give their fans plenty to shout about with a convincing, bonus-point victory.

Teams

Ulster: 15. Will Addison, 14. Robert Baloucoune, 13. Luke Marshall, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 11. Jacob Stockdale, 10. Billy Burns, 9. John Cooney, 1. Jack McGrath, 2. Rob Herring, 3. Tom O’Toole, 4. Alan O’Connor, 5. Iain Henderson ©, 6. Sean Reidy, 7. Jordi Murphy, 8. Marcell Coetzee

Replacements: 16. Adam McBurney, 17. Eric O’Sullivan, 18. Ross Kane, 19. Kieran Treadwell, 20. Nick Timoney, 21. David Shanahan, 22. Bill Johnston, 23. Craig Gilroy.

Bath: 15. Tom Homer, 14. Gabe Hamer-Webb, 13. Jackson Willison, 12. Max Wright, 11. Ruaridh McConnochie, 10. Freddie Burns, 9. Ollie Fox, 1. Beno Obano, 2. Jack Walker, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Matt Garvey, 5. Charlie Ewels ©, 6. Tom Ellis, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Josh Bayliss

Replacements: 16. Ross Batty, 17. Lucas Noguera, 18. Sam Nixon, 19. Josh McNally, 20. Mike Williams, 21. Chris Cook, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. Aled Brew