Clermont Auvergne v Northampton Saints: European Rugby Champions Cup preview
Last Updated: 04/04/15 5:23pm
Aviva Premiership leaders Northampton travel to the Stade Marcel Michelin to take on Clermont in the Champions Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2 HD.
Saints will be without Wales winger George North, who has been ruled out for a month after suffering three concussions in a matter of weeks and have made three changes to the side that beat Wasps last time out.
Jamie Elliott comes in for North on the wing while Sam Dickinson and Luther Burrell come in for Christian Day and Tom Stephenson respectively.
George Pisi will make his 100th appearance for Northampton in the match against his former club, becoming the fourth Saints player to reach the landmark this season.
The hosts, meanwhile, reunite Wesley Fofana, who has recovered from a hamstring injury, with Jonathan Davies in the centre, the latter enjoying an impressive Six Nations for Wales.
With Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez missing, Ludovic Radosavljevic and James Brook occupy the half-back positions. Vincent Debaty is preferred to Thomas Domingo in the front row.
Both sides come into the game in decent form, Clermont having lost just twice in their last nince outings and Jim Mallinder’s Saints defeated only once in the previous six.
Mallinder said ahead of the trip: "I think the player with character and something about them enjoys this sort of test of a competitive nature.
"It is not just taking on a fantastic team of mainly international players - they have got a squad full of international players. They lose a couple of players, and another international steps in.
"They have got no weaknesses there, so it is a massive test in terms of the team we are playing, but also the club that we are playing.
"We have seen the statistics in the quarter-finals, when one of the four away teams normally wins. We know we have got a chance that we could be one of those four this weekend.
"We are going to go there and give it the best shot we can."
Clermont Auvergne: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Ludovic Radoslavjevic; 1 Vincent Debaty, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 6 Damien Chouly (c), 7 Julien Bonnaire, 8 Fritz Lee.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Clément Ric, 19 Julien Pierre, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Mike Delany, 23 Aurélien Rougerie.
Northampton Saints: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson; 1 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 4 Samu Manoa, 5 Courtney Lawes, 6 Tom Wood, 7 Calum Clark, 8 Sam Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Christian Day, 20 Jon Fisher, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Tom Stephenson, 23 Ahsee Tuala.
Watch Clermont Auvergne v Northampton from 5.45pm on Sky Sports 2 HD on Saturday or watch for £6.99 with a Sky Sports Day Pass.