The two teams were pulled out to face each other at this afternoon’s draw in Lausanne, with the match being held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry courtesy of their two pool stage wins in December.

Speaking earlier today, Wasps head coach Lee Blackett spoke of his excitement for his side to test themselves against the 2019 Challenge Cup winners.

“We are excited about the prospect of getting back to the European competition,” Blackett said. “We had a couple of good performances in the pool matches, and we are looking forward to welcoming Clermont to the Ricoh Arena in the knockout stages.

“Clermont will be a tough proposition, but whoever you play in the knockout stages, is always going to be tough.

“That’s why it’s the top club competition in Europe and it’s why we love playing in it and testing ourselves against the best.”

Franck Azema echoed the thoughts of Blackett, highlighting that the two sides haven’t met since a pair of epic pool stage clashes in 2007.

“It’s an exciting challenge to go and face Wasps in the last 16,” Azema said. “The beauty of this competition is to play against teams we don’t often come across. Our last encounter with them was in 2007. We can’t wait to be there.

“Wasps won their two pool matches against Dragons and Montpellier, so we will be outsiders against a team who have a lot of pace and an interesting attacking line with two young half-backs.”

ASM Clermont Auvergne head coach Franck Azema and Wasps head coach Lee Blackett have both declared themselves “excited” to face each other when the two sides meet in the Last 16 of the Heineken Champions Cup next month.