Munster and Cardiff saw their title hopes fade following defeats to the Ospreys and Ulster respectively on Friday night, while that win for Mark McCall's side means that they join Leinster in a two-horse race for the title. It promises to be an interesting few weeks for both provinces.

All in all, Leinster's run in isn't too difficult. After tonight's game they play Cardiff and Edinburgh . . .

decent sides, both, but certainly beatable . . . and the most critical factor in the next couple of weeks could be the fact that those fixture are away from home.

As the Leinster coach pointed out during the week, his side haven't been at their best on their travels this season, losing four and winning three, although it is notable that two of their three wins have been on Irish soil, against Connacht and Ulster.

"We've got better at away matches as they season's gone on, " says Cheika. "We had some good wins in the Heineken Cup and we lost narrowly to Bourgoin so that gave us some confidence on the road. As we've become more confident in our game, we've certainly travelled better."

The one thing you can be certain about is that Leinster are up for their final run in, especially after what happened against Munster a few weeks back. In a season that's already delivered more on the field than can have been expected back in August, they're mad keen to top if off by winning the Celtic League and having something concrete to show for their improvements over the past few months.

"For me, the week in week out competition is where you show your true worth, " says Cheika. "The Celtic League is a bit different because you lose your players for a while and then they come back.

We've improved as the season's gone on and you can tell that by our bonus point situation. We couldn't get one at the start of the season but as the year's worn on we've been able to get them more regularly and that shows our progress as a team. This is a damn good competition and we want to win it."

On the selection front, Brian O'Driscoll returns to the starting team for Leinster having missed last week's victory over the Ospreys, while Rob Kearney gets a game on the wing as Shane Horgan switches to inside centre and Gordon D'Arcy drops to the bench. Eric Miller continues his swansong at number six, while Bernard Jackman continues at hooker having sat out most of the season with injury.

GLASGOW C Shaw; S Davey, H O'Hare, A Henderson, R Lamont; D Parks, C Gregor; K Tkachuk, F Thomson, B Prescott, J Eddie, D Turner, A Wilson, D Macfayden (c), J Beattie

LEINSTER G Dempsey; D Hickie, B O'Driscoll (c), S Horgan, R Kearney; F Contepomi, G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Jackman, W Green, A Byrnes, M O'Kelly, E Miller, K Gleeson, J Heaslip CELTIC LEAGUE GLASGOW v LEINSTER Firhill, 7.30 Referee H Watkins (Wales) Live, Setanta Sports, 7.00