Ulster will be determined to grind out a home win when they host Leicester Tigers in what promises to be a mouthwatering and compelling clash at Ravenhill on Friday.

This clash of the former champions, the Irish province lifted the trophy in 1999 and the Tigers did the same in 2001 and 2002, will be pivotal for both teams bid to qualify for the knockout stages.

Only three points separate three teams - Ulster, Leicester and Clermont - in Pool 4 and all of them will have genuine ambitions of making the knockout stages of this season's tournament.

The Belfastside top the Pool, ahead of the English and French outfits, but will be more than aware that they cannot afford a slip up if they have ambitions to reach the last eight for the second season running.

The Tigers, who have won one and lost one in the Heineken Cup against Ulster, will be aiming to keep their campaign on track with an away victory in a bid to reach their ninth quarter-final in the tournament.

The Teams:

Ulster: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Adam D'Arcy

Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Billy Twelvetrees, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Jules Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Rob Hawkins, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Ben Woods, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Scott Hamilton.

Date: Friday, January 13
Venue: Ravenhill, Belfast
Kick-off: 20.00 (20.00 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert (France), Eric Soulan (France)
TMO: Daniel Gillet (France)