Guinness PRO14 champions Leinster, Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors will look to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Rainbow Cup final this weekend.
Leinster are nine points behind but head to third-placed Glasgow Warriors, who have a six-point cushion over their opponents, on Friday before the Dragons visit the RDS Arena next weekend.
The Ospreys trail Benetton, who they meet at home in Round 6, by eight points but have two games in hand, starting at Connacht on Friday night. Elsewhere, Edinburgh and Ulster meet at BT Murrayfield before the final match of the round sees Zebre visit Cardiff Blues.
Friday – Connacht v Ospreys (18:00)
Connacht was unable to build on their magnificent Munster victory as they went down 20-12 at Benetton last Saturday.
All three of the Westerners’ last wins have all arrived on the road, with their previous victory in Galway coming against Cardiff in Round 12 of the Guinness PRO14 in February.
Ospreys have already tasted victory at this venue – a 26-20 success in Round 8 of the Guinness PRO14 – and need to leave triumphant again to stay alive in the battle to reach the final
The Welsh side has won on two of their three previous visits to an Irish province and has a 23-11 overall win record against Connacht.
Friday – Glasgow v Leinster (20:15)
Defeat for either side will end their prospects of advancing to the final
Glasgow made it three consecutive wins in the championship for the first time since February 2020 when they beat the Dragons in Cardiff and have not won four on the spin since May 2019.
Leinster bounced back from their Round 1 reverse to Munster by posting a combined 71 points in wins over Connacht and Ulster and have been beaten just once away from home since April 2019.
The Dubliners have won their last five matches against the Warriors, who have lost their previous nine to an Irish province
Saturday – Edinburgh v Ulster (17:15)
Ulster head to the Scottish capital seeking a first win in the Rainbow Cup and looking to end a wretched run of form.
The Irish province has gone five matches without a win after Scarlets were awarded the points following the cancellation of last weekend’s clash due to coronavirus cases in the camp.
Edinburgh’s record is marginally better with their sole win in their last six matches in all competitions coming against Zebre in Round 1.
But Richard Cockerill’s side has won just once at home since early January while Ulster has triumphed on their previous four visits to this stadium.
Saturday – Cardiff v Zebre (19:35)
Cardiff was denied a third successive win and saw their final prospects ended after a late 31-27 defeat to Munster at Thomond Park.
But they will now attempt to finish with a flourish and have won their last eight fixtures against Italian opposition in all competitions.
Zebre and Ulster are the only two sides yet to record a victory in the Rainbow Cup, with Michael Bradley’s side having lost their last seven matches.
The Blues have lost just once in seven against Zebre, who are the only Italian side to have beaten Cardiff in their own backyard having prevailed at the Arms Park back in September 2013.