The Champions Cup continues this weekend with the second round of the 2022/23 season once again seeing 12 matches scheduled, including Leicester v Clermont.
Check out all the team news and predictions, here.
Friday
Leinster v Gloucester
Prediction: Leinster by 35
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose (c), 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Cian Healy, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 Jordan Larmour
Gloucester: 15 Lloyd Evans, 14 Alex Hearle, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jacob Morris, 10 George Barton, 9 Ben Meehan (c), 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Jack Clement, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Freddie Thomas, 3 Ciaran Knight, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Harry Taylor, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Seb Atkinson, 23 Kyle Moyle
Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees: Jérémy Rozier (France), Adrien Descottes (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Bordeaux-Begles v Sharks
Prediction: Sharks by 5
The teams:
Bordeaux: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Geoffrey Cros, 13 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 12 Federico Mori, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Jules Gimbert, 8 Caleb Timu, 7 Antoine Miquel, 6 Renato Giammarioli, 5 Jandré Marais (c), 4 Cyril Cazeaux, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Lekso Kaulashvili
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Ben Tameifuna, 18 Christopher Vaotoa, 19 Alban Roussel, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Santiago Cordero, 22 Matéo Garcia, 23 Rémi Lamerat
Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Lukhanyo Am
Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales (England), James Clarke (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)
Saturday
Edinburgh v Castres
Prediction: Edinburgh by 3
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Glen Young, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Angus Williams, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Chris Dean
Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Antoine Zeghdar, 12 Adrien Seguret, 11 Antoine Bouzerand, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Julien Blanc, 8 Kevin Kornath, 7 Asier Usarraga, 6 Baptiste Delaporte (c), 5 Théo Hannoyer, 4 Gauthier Maravat, 3 Aurélien Azar, 2 Pierre Colonna, 1 Quentin Walcker
Replacements: 16 Brice Humbert, 17 Loîs Guérois-Galisson, 18 Antoine Guillamon, 19 Florent Vanverberghe, 20 Baptiste Cope, 21 Josaia Raisuqe, 22 Rory Kockott, 23 Thomas Larregain
Venue: DAM Health Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Nick Wood, Peter Allan
TMO: David Rose
📢- 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏
Here is your @ExeterChiefs side to face @BlueBullsRugby in tomorrow's @ChampionsCup clash at @SandyParkExeter (1pm) ⬇️https://t.co/mSsnMLA1gC#EXEvBUL pic.twitter.com/v7MGghxji4
— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) December 16, 2022
Exeter Chiefs v Bulls
Prediction: Exeter by 7
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Rory O’Loughlin, 11.Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Sam Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (c), 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Will Becconsall, 22 Solomone Kata, 23 Josh Hodge
Bulls: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Sibongile Novuka, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Chris Smith, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morné Steyn (c), 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Muller Uys, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Reinhardt Ludwig, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Dylan Smith
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Cameron Hanekom, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Carlton Banies, 23 Juan Mostert
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Dufort, Vincent Blasco-Baque
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure
Lyon v Saracens
Prediction: Saracens by 12
The teams:
Lyon: 15 Alexandre Tchaptchet, 14 Xavier Mignot, 13 Thibaut Regard, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Tavite Veredamu, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Jordan Taufua (c), 7 Mickael Guillard, 6 Theo William, 5 Temo Mayanavanua, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Hamza Kaabèche
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Marchand, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Paulo Tafili, 19 Loann Goujon, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Jonathan Pélissié, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Alfred Parisien
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Jackson Wray, 20 Andrew Christie, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Alex Goode, 23 Max Malins
Venue: Matmut Stadium de Gerland
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Frank Murphy
Assistant Referees: Eoghan Cross, Paul Haycock
TMO: Leo Colgan
Leicester Tigers v Clermont
Prediction: Leicester by 5
The teams:
Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg (c), 5 Calum Green, 4 Ollie Chessum, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Chris Ashton
Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Cheik Tiberghien, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Arthur Iturria (c), 7 Alexandre Fischer, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Yohan Beheregaray, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Boudou, 17 Daniel Bibi Biziwu, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Miles Amatosero, 20 Thibaud Lanen, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Jean-Pascal Barraque
Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin, Oisin Quinn
TMO: Brian MacNeice
Stormers v London Irish
Prediction: Stormers by 9
The teams:
Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c)
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg
London Irish: 15 Ben Loader, 14 Lucio Cinti Luna, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Josh Basham, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Matt Rogerson (c), 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben White, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Will Joseph
Venue: DHL Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Pierre Brousset
Assistant Referees: Taul Trainini, Benoit Rousselet
TMO: Thomas Charabas
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📋 Your Ulster team to face @staderochelais at Kingspan Stadium tomorrow evening 👊#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/5Bk2ykwnrl
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) December 16, 2022
Ulster v La Rochelle
Prediction: La Rochelle by 10
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Ethan McIlroy, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Rob Lyttle, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Iain Henderson (c), 5 Sam Carter, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Dave McCann, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Ben Moxham
La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Pierre Boudehent, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Yoan Tanga, 6 Remi Bourdeau, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Romain Sazy, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Reda Wardi
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Thomas Berjon, 22 Levani Botia, 23 Raymond Rhule
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: George Selwood, John Meredith
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Montpellier v Ospreys
Prediction: Montpellier by 15
The teams:
Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier (c), 14 Ben Lam, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Paolo Garbisi, 11 George Bridge, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Alexandre Becognee, 6 Clement Doumenc, 5 Bastien Chalureau, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Grégory Fichten, 18 George Tuinukuafe, 19 Marco Tauleigne, 20 Leo Coly, 21 Julien Tisseron, 22 Masivesi Dakuwaqa, 23 Paul Willemse
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Mike Collins, 12 Kieran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Tom Francis, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Joe Hawkins
Venue: GGL Stadium
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Wayne Falla
TMO: Adam Leal
Sunday
Northampton Saints v Munster
Prediction: Munster by 3
The teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 James Ramm, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Alfie Petch, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Aaron Hinkley, 22 Callum Braley, 23 Fraser Dingwall
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Jack Crowley, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Peter O’Mahony (c), 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 John Hodnett, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Shane Daly
Venue: cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Ludovic Cayre
Assistant Referees: Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy, Jonathan Gasnier
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin
𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 | 🦈 𝘃 🇫🇷
Time to cross the channel #SharksFam! ✈️
Alex makes five changes to #YourSharks as Byron McGuigan and Sam Hill return to the starting line up and Ryan Mills get's back into the Sharks jersey 🙌.#TOUvSAL | #SharkTime
— Sale Sharks 🦈 (@SaleSharksRugby) December 16, 2022
Toulouse v Sale Sharks
Prediction: Toulouse by 8
The teams:
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Lucas Tauzin, 13 Dimitri Delibes, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Thibaud Flament, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Yannick Youyoutte, 21 Selevasio Tolofua, 22 Sofiane Guitoune, 23 Martin Page Relo
Sale Sharks: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Arron Reed, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Rob du Preez (c), 9 Gus Warr, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Jono Ross, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Ryan Mills
Venue: Stade Ernest Wallon
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi
Assistant Referees: Filippo Russo, Manuel Bottino
TMO: Matteo Liperini
Harlequins v Racing 92
Prediction: Harlequins by 5
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 George Head, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 George Hammond, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Oscar Beard
Racing 92: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Gael Fickou (c), 11 Donovan Taofifenua, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Kitione Kamikamica, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Anthime Hemery, 5 Fabien Sanconnie, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Biyi Alo, 2 Janick Tarrit, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Jonathan Maïau, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Boris Palu, 20 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 21 Antoine Gibert, 22 Henry Chavancy, 23 Louis Dupichot
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones, Rhys Jones
TMO: Ben Whitehouse