Glasgow head coach Franco Smith tells Premier Sports: "All games are important, we've played 16 finals already. Everyone that plays us wants to play a final.

"Our objective is bigger than this game. We've qualified for the quarter-finals, we need to get our game up to standard. We're playing a strong team, but we need to focus on ourselves."

Former All Black Stephen Donald criticised the quality of the URC this week, but Smith bit back hard: "I've been involved in this competition since it was the Magners, this is a quality competition. I've coached and played Super Rugby and you can't compare it, it's a completely different challenge."

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It all started with Nigel Carolan's quotes in the press...

"Obviously they're coming with a vendetta," the assistant Glasgow coach said. "They're quite open about that, they said after the final, it's all about when the fixtures come out, it was about the 25 April 2025.

"I think Jake White alluded to it... their whole season is really about getting revenge, and getting one up over us on Friday, but that's all fine and well."

White, the Bulls head coach, retaliated with: "I don’t know who he is. I’ve never met the man. I've got no idea why he would say that.

“Our whole season is revenge? I don't even know how he gets to that basis.

“I don't coach rugby on revenge... It is absolutely nonsense that this is a revenge game where the season's based on the whole thing."

Spicy.

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While it's Benetton who enjoy more success of the two Italian teams, there's still international experience among Zebre's ranks.

Jacopo Trulla starred for Italy in the Six Nations, while 23-year-old Simone Gesi has been tipped to break through for some time.

Giacomo Da Re has a handful of caps while Alessandro Fusco has fought for the starting nine Azzurri jersey.

In the forwards, impressive loosehead Danilo Fischetti captains - he'll soon move to Northampton Saints. Luca Morisi, who had 50 caps for his country in the centres, could come off the bench.

Zebre: Trulla, Gregory, Paea, Mazza, Gesi; Da Re, Fusco; Fischetti (c), Di Bartolomeo, Hasa, Canali, Krumov, Ferrari, Stavile, Licata.

Replacements: Bigi, Buonfiglio, Pitinari, Zambonin, Nasove, Garcia, Montemauri, Morisi.

Scotland internationals Darcy Graham and Hamish Watson return to bolster Edinburgh in Parma.

The pair, who were rested for last weekend's narrow loss to Sharks, are among six changes for the visitors.

Jack Brown, usually a fullback, makes his first Edinburgh start on the wing, while Boan Venter comes in at loosehead prop and Paddy Harrison starts at hooker.

In the second row, Glen Young is preferred to Grant Gilchrist. With Jamie Ritchie rested, Ben Muncaster moves to blindside flanker, allowing Watson to reclaim the number seven jersey and make his 100th Edinburgh appearance.

Edinburgh: Paterson, Graham, Currie, Lang, Brown, Thompson, Price, Venter, Harrison, Rae, Young, Skinner, Muncaster, Watson, Bradbury.

Replacements: Morris, Hislop, Williams, Gilchrist, Douglas, Shiel, Scott, Tuipulotu.

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It's not a bad looking Bulls side, with eight Springboks in the starting XV.

The front-row is stacked with experience in Jan-Handrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw, while Ruan Nortje slips back to blindside flanker. Supporting him at number eight is powerhouse Marco van Staden.

It's been a while since Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen pulled on the green and gold, but they're still very much canny operators, and Canan Moodie on the wing can evade any defence.

On the bench, Marcel Coetzee adds oomph as a replacement and Willie Le Roux could come on to steal points from the tee.

Bulls: Williams, Moodie, Kriel, Vorster, De Klerk; Goosen, Papier; Wessels, Jo Grobbelaar, Louw, Wiese, Van Heerden, Kirsten, Nortje (c), Van Staden.

Replacements: Van der Merwe, Matanzima, Smith, Ja Grobbelaar, Coetzee, Johannes, Le Roux, Gans.

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Glasgow Warriors welcome back seven Scotland internationals and Patrick Schickerling for the visit of the Bulls.

Wing Kyle Rowe, fly-half Tom Jordan and scrum-half George Horne are the backs returning, while back-rows Gregor Brown and Rory Darge, loosehead prop Nathan McBeth and lock Max Williamson are back in the pack, along with tighthead Schickerling.

Ollie Smith moves from outside centre to full-back, captain Kyle Steyn moves from the wing to outside centre and McDowall moves from outside to inside centre. Another Scotland cap, lock Scott Cummings, could make his return from injury as a replacement.

Glasgow Warriors: Smith, Cancelliere, Steyn (capt), McDowall, Rowe, Jordan, Horne; McBeth, Hiddleston, Schickerling, Williamson, Samuel, Brown, Darge, Mann.

Replacements: Matthews, Bhatti, Talakai, Cummings, Ferrie, Vailanu, Dobie, Hastings.

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Two games to bring you tonight but our focus will, ever so slightly, be trained on Scotstoun - or 'The Slaughterhouse' as Glasgow assistant coach Nigel Carolan dubbed it earlier in the week.

There's been a war of words ahead of last season's URC final rematch between Glasgow and the Bulls. We'll take you through that pre-game.

Elsewhere, Edinburgh are in Italy as they travel to Zebre looking to break free from the play-off chasing pack.

Let's have a look at the teams.

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