Cardiff Blues v Sale: Teams

Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young has admitted defeat to Sale will end his side's hopes in Europe this season.

The Blues reached the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup last season, however they have failed to reach the same heights this time around.

Away defeats to Toulouse and the Sharks mean that the Welsh side need a win to keep alive their hopes of at least qualifying for the Amlin Challenge Cup.

And Young knows his side cannot afford any slip ups on Saturday with Sale currently four points ahead in second spot.

"Saturday's match is a must win game for us, as it is for the Sale Sharks," said Young.

"Being realistic, if we lose to Sale, we are pretty much out of both the top tier and the second-tier competitions in Europe.

"So we have got to make sure we go into the last game with an opportunity to get into the quarter-final stage of either the Heineken or Amlin Cups. That has got to be our focus.

"It we don't qualify for either competition it will be a huge blow for us after having had such a good run in Europe last season."

Australian fly-half Sam Norton-Knigh and lock Paul Tito are named among the replacements, with Casey Laulala getting the nod ahead of Tom Shanklin in the centres.

Talented

Sale coach Jason Robinson has called on his side to avoid complacency going into the final two games of the pool.

Sale have only lost away to Toulouse in the competition this season - with the Sharks having opted to field a weakened side in France.

However despite being close to qualification for the last eight, Robinson wants his side to maintain their focus.

"The group is heading for a thrilling finale and whilst we are in a good position, we can't be complacent," he said.

"Cardiff are a very good side with talented players all over the field. If we don't respect them they will punish us. They were losing semi-finalists in a shoot out last year and I am sure Dai Young will have his players fired up for this weekend's game."

Sale have named youngster Martin Halsall in the front row for the trip to Wales.

Cardiff: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Andy Powell, 5 Deiniol Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Taufau Filise, 2 Gareth Williams, 1 Gethin Jenkins (capt).
Replacements: 16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Gary Powell, 19 Paul Tito, 20 Ben White, 21 Gareth Cooper, 22 Sam Norton Knight, 23 Tom Shanklin.

Sale: 15 Nick Macleod, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Lee Thomas, 11 Ben Cohen, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 David Seymour, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Martin Halsall, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Eifion Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Chris Jones, 20 Luke Abraham, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonny Kennedy, 23 Chris Bell.