Bristol's hopes of making the Champions Cup last 16 were hit by a 31-17 home defeat by South African side Bulls last weekend.

Kieran Marmion scored for the Bears but they trailed 10-7 at half-time.

Bulls dominated the second half after Bristol prop Max Lahiff was sent to the sin-bin and the Bears, without any further front-row options, were briefly reduced to 13 and uncontested scrums.

Bulls took a bonus point before Gabriel Ibitoye and Magnus Bradbury scored.

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There was more Champions Cup disappointment for Connacht last Saturday after going down to a 34-20 defeat by Pool 1 leaders Lyon at Matmut Stadium de Gerland.

Thaakir Abrahams notched two Lyon tries with Alexandre Tchaptchet and Mickael Guillard also going over.

Sean Jansen, Cian Prendergast and Dylan Tierney-Martin scored Connacht's tries as they slipped to a third successive pool loss.

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Image source, Inpho

Ireland centre Bundee Aki returns for Connacht in one of eight changes for the Pool 1 encounter.

Finlay Bealham, Denis Buckley, Niall Murray, David Hawkshaw, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Caolin Blade, Tiernan O'Halloran are also recalled to the starting XV.

Bristol captain Fitz Harding is back for the English visitors as they makes five changes.

Jake Woolmore and Kyle Sinckler return to the front row while backs Harry Randall, Virimi Vakatawa and Kalaveti Ravouvou also come in.

The Bristol squad includes two former Connact players with AJ MacGinty starting at fly-half while Kieran Marmion is on the bench.

And it's a team coached by Pat Lam, who guided Connacht to the Pro12 title in 2016.

Connacht: O'Halloran; Smith, Hawkshaw, Aki, Bolton; Hanrahan, Blade (capt); Buckley, McElroy, Bealham; Murray, Joyce; Prendergast, Hurley-Langton, Butler.

Replacements: Heffernan, Dooley, Aungier, Dowling, Oliver, McDonald, Carty, Oran McNulty

Bristol Bears: Malins; Ravouvou, Vakatawa, van Rensburg, Ibitoye; MacGinty, Randall; Woolmore, Oghre, Sinckler; Caulfield, Batley; Luatua, Harding (capt), Bradbury

Replacements: Capon, Grahamslaw, Lahiff, Owen, Thomas, Marmion, William, O'Conor.

Image source, Inpho

It's a big night at the Sportsground as Connacht and Bristol get their last chance to qualify for the last 16 in the Champions Cup.

Bristol sit fourth in Pool 1 and in the final qualifying spot but they are only in front of fellow English side Saracens by virtue of being one point better off on the average points difference.

The Bears need to secure a bonus-point win in Galway and better Saracens' score to ensure their qualification.

Sarries, who host Lyon on Saturday, also need the full five points on offer and to top Bristol's scoreline by two points.

There's a slim chance both sides could catch the third-placed Bulls but it would require the South African side to lose heavily to Bordeaux and concede their current 55-point advantage over Bristol and 56-point lead over Sarries.

Connacht are also still in the frame to qualify, but only just. The Irish hosts have lost their opening three pool games and would need to beat Bristol with a bonus point and then hoping Lyon overcome Saracens at the StoneX Stadium without the hosts gaining a losing bonus.

We hope that's all clear but yes, you may need a calculator to sort this one out.

We'll bring you the latest from the Pool 1 showdown - thanks for joining us.