Ulster boss Mark Anscombe has described Glasgow as the form team in the RaboDirect PRO12 as he prepares his side for a battle at Scotstoun.

Ravaged by injuries and international calls, Ulster continues to lead the RaboDirect PRO12 race but Anscombe is predicting a battle against second-placed Warriors in Glasgow.

Ulster remain at the top of the RaboDirect PRO12 table despite having a won two and lost two-record from their last four contests, illustrating the Six Nations has hit their selection hard.

Injuries and unavailability due to Ireland’s needs have resulted in Hughes Insurance Academy boys Alan O’Connor, James Simpson and Conor Joyce being named for the trip to Glasgow along with young props Ricky Lutton and Andrew Warwick.

The Ulstermen have lost only one away game in any competition this season: 24-10 at Munster in December, whilst they have won their last seven games against Scottish opponents in all tournaments.

But despite his team’s impressive statistic against Scottish sides – Anscombe is not predicting an easy trip to Glasgow this weekend.

"It’s a big week," Anscombe admitted. "It’s the fourth time of playing Glasgow and we've won the first three.

“We certainly can go up there and win, there's no question about that and we'll challenge ourselves to be in the position to do that.

"But it's going to be one hell of a task. They're always hard to beat at home and if there's a form team in this competition at the moment you'd have to say it's them."

Glasgow Warriors have won their last five encounters since their 31-3 defeat in Munster in December, with the Warriors' only loss at Scotstoun in the tournament since early September 6-0 to Leinster on November 23.

Glasgow has won just one of their last seven fixtures with Irish provinces: 27-17 at home to Connacht on 21 September, with the Warriors' solitary victory over Ulster in their last seven meetings being a 17-9-win at Firhill in 2011.

But Glasgow boss Gregor Townsend insists his side can spring a surprise by beating Ulster and keeping their recent good form going.

“ There could be no bigger test for us than the one we will face at Scotstoun when we take on the league leaders Ulster,” he said.

“They have beaten us three times in three meetings so far this season. We have been competitive in those matches. But we have not played with enough quality and intensity for the full 80 minutes.

“That must change if we are to get a result this time out. In the first fixture of the season at Ravenhill we were in the game with five minutes to go and had a chance to score a try. The ball was intercepted.

“We respect them and how they play. They have a lot of traits we try to reproduce. It is easy to see why they are in first place in the league and do so well in Europe.

“But I think they respect us too. In our last meeting at Raven hill in poor conditions we put ourselves in a position to win the game. We just have to ensure that we perform for the 80 minutes this time.”

At Scotstoun Stadium , 7.35pm.
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 91st competition game)
Assistant Referees: David Changleng, Adrain Graves (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Rob Flockhart (SRU)
TMO: Iain Ramage (SRU)

Live on BBC ALBA, BBC NI and RTÉ