On Friday night Ulster host Connacht in the first Irish derby of the season in an important inter-conference match at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. The game, which kicks off at 7.35pm, pits two sides fresh from defeats looking to bounce back against one another.

What’s at stake: Connacht go in search of a win to arrest their current run of three straight losses but they will come up against an Ulster team eager to bounce back from last weekend’s loss against Zebre and armed with a record of nine wins from their last 10 fixtures against the Galway outfit.

Team news (Ulster): Captain Chris Henry returns to the side in the back row, where he will be joined by Iain Henderson and Jean Deysel. Kyle McCall, Rob Herring and Wiehahn Herbst come in to occupy the front row positions, with Alan O’Connor and Kieran Treadwell named in the second row.

John Cooney and Christian Lealiifano are retained as the half-backs and will steer an all-international backline. Stuart McCloskey is back in midfield alongside Luke Marshall, with Jacob Stockdale and Tommy Bowe selected on the wings and Charles Piutau at full-back.

Team news (Connacht): Scrum-half Kieran Marmion will make his 100th Championship appearance for Connacht.

Head coach Kieran Keane includes captain John Muldoon and Ireland international Marmion in the starting XV along with Matt Healy as the winger has recovered from a groin injury.

Tiernan O’Halloran moves to full-back having scored two tries against Scarlets last time out with Cian Kelleher, also a try-scorer last week, on the right wing.

Talking points:

All eyes will be on Ulster to see how they respond to their 27-23 defeat by Zebre last time out.

Director of rugby Les Kiss has made nine changes to the side that lost last weekend and will hope that Ulster’s excellent record against Connacht (P28 W23 D1 L4) will see them back to winning ways.

Key Battle: Luke Marshall vs Bundee Aki

Aki has played every single minute for Connacht so far this season and will come up against his soon-to-be international compatriot Marshall.

Marshall started two games for Ireland on the recent summer tour and comes up against a player who is now eligible to play for Ireland after completing three years’ residency in the country after signing from Super Rugby side the Chiefs.

Key Stat: Ulster have lost just one of their last ten fixtures with Connacht, at the Sportsground in round 6 last season, whilst Connacht have not triumphed in Belfast since November 1960.

Did you know? Ulster have been defeated only twice by an Irish province in Belfast since May 2014, and both of those were to Munster.

Ulster: C Piutau, T Bowe, L Marshall, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, C Lealiifano, J Cooney, K McCall, R Herring, W Herbst, A O’Connor, K Treadwell, I Henderson, C Henry, J Deysel

Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, R Ah You, R Diack, S Reidy, P Marshall, P Nelson, L Ludik.

Connacht: T O’Halloran, C Kelleher, B Aki, T Farrell, M Healy, J Carty, K Marmion, D Buckley, T McCartney, F Bealham, U Dillane, Q Roux, E McKeon, J Butler, J Muldoon

Replacements: D Heffernan, D Coulson, C Carey, J Cannon, E Masterson, C Blade, S Crosbie, E Griffin

TV: BBC Sport NI/TG4 (KO: 7.35pm)

Match Officials – Referee: Andy Brace (IRFU), AR1: Frank Murphy (IRFU), AR2: Paul Haycock (IRFU), TMO: Peter Fitzgibbon

Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie