Fourteen of the 20 competing clubs have already registered at least one win during the initial rounds and the five pools are so well balanced that every match point will matter as the road to the 2020 Marseille finals becomes clearer.

Top of the bill is the repeat of the 2011 final between Northampton Saints and Leinster Rugby with the first confrontation at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday live on Channel 4, Virgin Media and BT Sport. The two in-form clubs are among five in the tournament to have won both of their opening matches, however, the Gallagher Premiership outfit will feel they have a score to settle not only after that dramatic Cardiff final eight years ago, but also following the December meetings three years ago when Leinster took all 10 points.

Other key notes from Heineken Champions Cup, Round 3, include:

The round kicks off tomorrow evening live on BT Sport with a landmark fixture in Pool 3 as 1998 winners Bath Rugby take on ASM Clermont Auvergne at the Rec in what will be home club’s 100th tournament match. In addition, former EPCR European Player of the Year and former Bath luminary, Nick Abendanon, will make his 50th tournament appearance if selected.

Munster Rugby and Saracens meet for the 10th time with Johann van Graan’s side edging the head-to-head 5-4 as they prepare for Saturday’s Thomond Park clash. Saracens have beaten Munster in the semi-finals on each of the last two occasions that they have won the trophy, including last season.

Exeter Chiefs are the only club with a maximum haul of 10 match points as they go into the first of two battles with Premiership rivals Sale Sharks – currently second in Pool 2 – at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Over a quarter of a million fans passed through the turnstiles for the opening two rounds of the tournament.

Click HERE for Heineken Champions Cup, Round 3 fixture and broadcast details

In the European Rugby Challenge Cup, we have a repeat of the 2018 semi-final as two former winners of the tournament – Cardiff Blues and Pau – meet at Cardiff Arms Park in Pool 5.

The two clubs share plenty of history with the Welsh region winning each of their three matches against Pau while Paul Tito, who was a substitute when the Blues won their first Challenge Cup in Marseille in 2010, is now part of the TOP 14 club’s coaching staff. The Saturday evening fixture will be broadcast live by S4C with several other matches to be streamed live on ChallengeCupRugby.com.

Points of note elsewhere in Round 3 of the Challenge Cup include:

Dragons and Bristol Bears are the only clubs to have picked up a maximum haul of 10 match points from the opening rounds. The PRO14 club make the short journey to Worcester Warriors for their third Challenge Cup meeting whilst Bristol welcome 2017 winners Stade Français Paris to Ashton Gate with both games scheduled for Saturday. The Bears lead the way as top scorers of both points (95) and tries (13) going into the back-to-back fixtures.

Agen last locked horns with Bordeaux-Bègles in the Challenge Cup in the quarter-final of the inaugural tournament when the hosts made it through after extra-time. Agen need to kickstart their Pool 3 campaign at Stade Armandie tomorrow evening as one of only three clubs in the tournament yet to register a match point.

On Saturday, RC Toulon will look to build on their 100% record against London Irish in the Challenge Cup and consolidate top spot in Pool 2 when the two meet at Stade Mayol. The same evening, Bayonne go in search of their first Challenge Cup win of the season when welcoming Scarlets for their second consecutive visit to France.

Castres Olympique, who reached the inaugural 1997 final, will feature in the last Challenge Cup match of the pool stage in Russia tomorrow when they meet Enisei-STM for the first time at Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar.

Click HERE for Challenge Cup, Round 3 fixture and broadcast details

European club rugby’s heavyweight sides are preparing for this month’s crucial contests with the back-to-back Heineken Champions Cup Rounds 3 and 4 fixtures set to go a long way towards determining the qualifiers for the tournament’s knockout stage.