Ireland second row Joe McCarthy says he believes Ulster "always raise their game" when they face Leinster as the sides prepare to lock horns again at the Aviva Stadium.

Leinster are heavy favourites for the interprovincial derby and head into the match off the back of a 52-0 win over Glasgow Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup.

Leo Cullen's side lead the United Rugby Championship with 13 wins from 14 matches, while Ulster sit sixth after a recent resurgence in form.

"An interpro like this is great. I always find Ulster really raise their game against us and they will be looking to turn us over.

"We are not short of motivation for this game. We want to put on a performance for the fans and beat Ulster."

Leinster have momentum behind them and last week's quarter-final win over Glasgow in the Investec Champions Cup put their aggregate score over their last two-and-a-half European matches to 142-0.

McCarthy says the province's recent defensive record is "class" and Leinster plan to "attack teams with our defence".

"It feels really good that we have a bit of momentum with us, the pleasing thing is the lads are really hungry to get back to training," said the Ireland international.

"We want to rip into that and keep the momentum going. That's the good thing about the group, still hungry to improve.

"There will be no complacency here. We know we will have harder challenges ahead and we will have to be better, teams figure you out a bit more, so you have to be focused on improving."

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Fit-again Cormac Izuchukwu and Jude Postlethwaite have been named to start for Ulster.

Ireland forward Izuchukwu has been out since February with an ankle injury while Postlethwaite has been sidelined since March.

Izuchukwu replaces Kieran Treadwell in the second row and Postlethwaite returns to partner Stuart McCloskey in midfield after James Hume was ruled out earlier this week because of a back injury.

The only other change from Ulster's Investec Champions Cup last-16 loss to Bordeaux on 6 April sees Nathan Doak recalled at scrum-half, with John Cooney dropping to the bench.

As expected, Leinster have made a raft of changes after thrashing Glasgow Warriors 52-0 in last week's Champions Cup quarter-finals, with only wing Tommy O'Brien, centre Garry Ringrose and lock Joe McCarthy retained.

Caelan Doris, James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park are among those rested by Leinster boss Leo Cullen.

However, Ireland internationals Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong and Sam Prendergast, and South Africa's RG Snyman, are all named on the bench.

Leinster: Osborne; T O'Brien, Ringrose, Henshaw, J O'Brien; Frawley, McGrath (capt); Boyle, G McCarthy, Clarkson; J McCarthy, Mangan; Soroka, Penny, Culhane.

Replacements: Sheehan, Porter, Furlong, Snyman, Deegan, Gunne, Prendergast, Turner.

Ulster: Lowry; Ward, Postlethwaite, McCloskey, Stockdale; Murphy, Doak; Warwick, Herring, O'Toole; O'Connor (capt), Izuchukwu; McNabney, Timoney, McCann.

Replacements: Stewart, Reid, Wilson, Dalton, Treadwell, Cooney, Moore, Matty Rea.

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Ulster may be facing the best team in the world when they visit Leinster in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday, head coach Richie Murphy says.

The league leaders welcome Ulster to the Aviva Stadium off the back of two impressive Investec Champions Cup wins against Harlequins and Glasgow Warriors.

They did not concede a point in those two games and have only lost one game in the league this season.

"At this moment in time, Leinster look like the strongest team in Europe, possibly the strongest team in the world," he told BBC Sport NI.

"Their depth is unbelievable and they're playing with a massive confidence, so it is a very difficult task, but the boys are confident and they're looking forward to challenging themselves against the best team in the league."

Read more from Murphy including how his Ulster side aim to take inspiration from Masters winner Rory McIlroy here.

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Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of today's United Rugby Championship game between Leinster and Ulster in Dublin.

It's a big game for Richie Murphy's side at the Aviva in their quest to reach the URC play-offs.

A three-match winning run in March moved Ulster up to the play-off positions in sixth spot as they defeated Scarlets, Dragons and Stormers.

However, it remains a congested table with 13th-placed Connacht only four points behind Ulster.

It will be a big ask to get a win today as they face a formidable Leinster side have an eight-point cushion over nearest challengers Glasgow Warriors at the top of the URC table going into the weekend's action, having won 13 of their 14 fixtures to date.

It promises to be an exciting an encounter so stay with us for all the action.

As well as following our live text commentary you can listen to radio commentary on the game on BBC Sounds and on BBC Radio Foyle.

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