Defending champions Munster and ASM Clermont Auvergne will clash for the second successive season - their contests last season among the Pool stage highlights. The score stands at 1-1 in meetings between Munster and Sale Sharks and, while tournament newcomers Montauban and ASM Clermont Auvergne are regular domestic opponents, Montauban will be an unknown quantity for Munster and Sale Sharks. ASM Clermont Auvergne and Sale Sharks have met three times in the European Challenge Cup (2-1 to the French club) but never in the Heineken Cup.

Munster (Ireland) Stadium: Thomond Park, Limerick. Coach: Tony McGahan. Cup best: Winners 2006 and 2008. Last season: Winners. Hot shot: Ronan O'Gara. Try machine: Doug Howlett. Prospects: Third European title in four seasons not beyond them.

Sale Sharks (England) Stadium: Edgeley Park, Stockport. Rugby director: Philippe Saint-Andre. Cup best: Quarter-finals 2006. Last season: European Challenge Cup semi-finalists. Hot shot: Charlie Hodgson. Try machine: Mark Cueto. Prospects: Will do well to progress from a ferociously-tough pool.

Clermont Auvergne (France) Stadium: Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin. Coach: Vern Cotter. Cup best: Quarter-finals 2000 and 2002. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Brock James. Try machine: Julien Malzieu. Prospects: Brilliant on their day, but need more consistency.

Montauban (France) Stadium: Stade Sapiac. Coach: Laurent Labit. Cup best: Heineken Cup debutants. Last season: European Challenge Cup pool stage. Hot shot: Cedric Rosalen. Try machine: Vilimoni Delasau. Prospects: Likely to be out of their depth.

Head-to-Head:

Munster v ASM Clermont Auvergne
Biggest Munster win 36-13 (h, 07/08)
Biggest ASM Clermont Auvergne win 26-19 (h, 07/08)

Munster v Sale Sharks
Biggest Munster win 31-9 (h, 05/06)
Biggest Sale Sharks win 27-13 (h, 05/06)

Leinster and Edinburgh are regular opponents having clashed six times in the tournament already, including in Pool 6 last season when the honours went with home advantage. Double Heineken Cup final winners London Wasps have met all their Pool opponents before with only Edinburgh able to boast a win against the 2004 and 2007 champions.

Wasps (England) Stadium: Adams Park, Wycombe. Rugby director: Ian McGeechan. Cup best: Winners 2004 and 2007. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Danny Cipriani. Try machine: Tom Voyce. Prospects: Poor start to domestic campaign does not auger well, but Londoners are renowned European fighters.

Leinster (Ireland) Stadium: Royal Dublin Showground. Head coach: Michael Cheika. Cup best: Semi-finals 2003 and 2006. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Felipe Contepomi. Try machine: Luke Fitzgerald. Prospects: Home and away games against Wasps should decide the group.

Castres (France) Stadium: Stade Pierre-Antoine. Coach: Alain Gaillard. Cup best: Semi-finals 2002. Last season: European Challenge Cup quarter-finals. Hot shot: Romain Teulet. Try machine: Matthieu Bourret. Prospects: Tough nuts at home - potentially weak on their travels.

Edinburgh (Scotland) Stadium: Murrayfield. Head coach: Andy Robinson. Cup best: Quarter-finals 2004. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Chris Paterson. Try machine: Simon Webster. Prospects: Will have their moments - but not enough of them.

Head-to-Head:

London Wasps v Leinster
Biggest London Wasps win 35-13 (h, 06/07 quarter-final)

London Wasps v Castres Olympique
Biggest London Wasps win 19-13 (h, 06/07)

London Wasps v Edinburgh
Biggest London Wasps win 53-17 (h, 05/06)
Biggest Edinburgh win 32-31 (h, 05/06)

Leinster v Edinburgh
Biggest Leinster win 49-19 (h, 06/07)
Biggest Edinburgh win 29-10 (h, 07/08)

Perpignan and Benetton Treviso go head-to-head for a second successive season with 2001 and 2002 tournament winners Leicester Tigers defending unbeaten records against Perpignan and the Ospreys with Benetton Treviso new opponents for both the Tigers and the Ospreys.

Leicester (England) Stadium: Welford Road. Head coach: Heyneke Meyer. Cup best: Winners 2001 and 2002. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Toby Flood. Try machine: Geordan Murphy. Prospects: Look likely to miss out in an intensely-competitive pool.

Perpignan (France) Stadium: Stade Aime Giral. Coach: Jacques Brunel. Cup best: Runners-up 2003. Last season: Quarter-finals. Hot shot: Dan Carter. Try machine: Christophe Manas. Prospects: If Carter clicks, they will feature firmly in the shake-up.

Ospreys (Wales) Stadium: Liberty Stadium, Swansea. Coach: Sean Holley. Cup best: Quarter-finals 2008. Last season: Quarter-finals. Hot shot: James Hook. Try machine: Shane Williams. Prospects: Undone by complacency last season, could go all the way this time.

Treviso (Italy) Stadium: Stade Communale di Monigo. Coach: Franco Smith. Cup best: Pool stage. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Andrea Marcato. Try machine: Simon Picone. Prospects: Likely to lose every game.

Head-to-Head:

Leicester Tigers v Perpignan
Biggest Leicester Tigers win 54-15 (h, 01/02)

Leicester Tigers v Ospreys
Biggest Leicester Tigers win 30-12 (h, 05/06)

Perpignan v Benetton Treviso
Biggest Perpignan win 55-13 (h, 07/08)

The draw for the 14th tournament ended with Pool 4 made up almost entirely of teams who have met before - only Scarlets and Harlequins new opponents. Stade Français Paris and Harlequins meet again for a second successive season while the Paris club and Ulster Rugby are old foes.

Stade Francais (France) Stadium: Stade Jean Bouin, Paris. Head coach: Ewen McKenzie. Cup best: Runners-up 2001 and 2005. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Lionel Beauxis. Try machine: Julien Arias. Prospects: Always seem to fall short despite a galaxy of talent.

Scarlets (Wales) Stadium: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli. Head coach: Nigel Davies. Cup best: Semi-finals 2000, 2002 and 2007. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Stephen Jones. Try machine: Dafydd James. Prospects: Dangerous on their day - cannot be written off.

Ulster (Ireland) Stadium: Ravenhill, Belfast. Head coach: Matt Williams. Cup best: Winners 1999. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Clinton Schifofske.. Try machine: Isaac Boss. Prospects: Magners League form suggests they are also-rans.

Harlequins (England) Stadium: Twickenham Stoop. Rugby director: Dean Richards. Cup best: Quarter-finals 1998. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Nick Evans. Try machine: David Strettle. Prospects: Could emerge as tournament surprise package and top the group.

Head-to-Head:

Stade Français Paris v Scarlets
Biggest Stade Français Paris win 49-3 (h, 98/99)
Biggest Llanelli Scarlets win 17-13 (h, 98/99)

Stade Français Paris v Ulster Rugby
Biggest Stade Français Paris win 40-11 (h, 01/02)
Biggest Ulster Rugby win 18-10 (h, 04/05)

Stade Français Paris v Harlequins
Biggest Stade Français Paris win 31-10 (a, 07/08)

Scarlets v Ulster Rugby
Biggest Llanelli Scarlets win 35-11 (a, 06/07)

Ulster Rugby v Harlequins
Biggest Harlequins win 21-15 (a, 96/97)

Former Heineken Cup champions Toulouse and Bath Rugby meet again for the first time since the 1999 / 2000 tournament with both teams winning their away matches nine years ago. Toulouse will clash with Newport Gwent Dragons for the first time although, before regional rugby was introduced in Wales, Toulouse and Newport clashed four times and Bath Rugby and Newport twice.

Toulouse (France) Stadium: Le Stadium. Coach: Guy Noves. Cup best: Winners 1996, 2003 and 2005. Last season: Runners-up. Hot shot: Jean-Baptiste Elissalde. Try machine: Vincent Clerc. Prospects: Rich tournament pedigree means they will again prove serious challengers.

Bath (England) Stadium: Recreation Ground. Head coach: Steve Meehan. Cup best: Winners 1998. Last season: European Challenge Cup winners. Hot shot: Butch James. Try machine: Matt Banahan. Prospects: Home and away against Toulouse should decide whether or not they progress.

Newport Gwent Dragons (Wales) Stadium: Rodney Parade. Coach: Paul Turner. Cup best: Pool stage. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: James Arlidge. Try machine: Richard Fussell. Prospects: Difficult opponents on home soil, but not good enough all-round.

Glasgow (Scotland) Stadium: Firhill Arena. Coach: Sean Lineen. Cup best: Quarter-final play-offs 1998. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Dan Parks. Try machine: Thom Evans. Prospects: Could upset Toulouse or Bath at home, but that's about it.

Head-to-Head:

Toulouse v Bath Rugby
Biggest Toulouse win 32-25 (a, 99/00)
Biggest Bath Rugby win 19-14 (a, 99/00)

Toulouse v Glasgow Warriors
Biggest Toulouse win 43-17 (h, 04/05)

Bath Rugby v Glasgow Warriors
Biggest Bath Rugby win 29-10 (a, 05/06)

Gloucester Rugby will be up against two new opponents - Biarritz Olympique and Rugby Calvisano - but Cardiff Blues have faced all their Pool 6 challengers before and will be aiming for a tournament first against Gloucester Rugby when they meet at the Millennium Stadium in Round 2.

Biarritz (France) Stadium: Parc des Sports Aguilera. Coach: Jacques Delmas. Cup best: Runners-up 2006. Last season: Pool stage. Hot shot: Valentin Courrent. Try machine: Takudzwa Ngwenya. Prospects: Potential finalists or pool stage fall-guys. Tough to predict.

Gloucester (England) Stadium: Kingsholm. Head coach: Dean Ryan. Cup best: Semi-finals 2001. Last season: Quarter-finals. Hot shot: Olly Barkley. Try machine: James Simpson-Daniel. Prospects: Reputation as big-game chokers now stalking them.

Cardiff Blues (Wales) Stadium: Arms Park. Head coach: David Young. Cup best: Runners-up 1996. Last season: Quarter-finalists. Hot shot: Ben Blair. Try machine: Jamie Robinson. Prospects: Look likely to miss out in a competitive pool.

Calvisano (Italy) Stadium: Centro Sportivo San Michele. Coach: Marc Delpoux. Cup best: Pool stage. Last season: European Challange Cup pool stage. Hot shot: Gerard Fraser. Try machine: Matteo Pratichetti. Prospects: Non-existent.

Head-to-Head:

Biarritz Olympique v Cardiff Blues
Biggest Biarritz Olympique win 75-25 (h, 02/03)
Biggest Cardiff Blues win 21-20 (h, 03/04)

Biarritz Olympique v Rugby Calvisano
Biggest Biarritz Olympique win 48-17 (a, 04/05)

Gloucester Rugby v Cardiff Blues
Biggest Gloucester Rugby win 23-16 (a, 04/05)

Cardiff Blues v Rugby Calvisano
Biggest Cardiff Blues win 43-16 (h, 05/06)

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