"The timing of the game shouldn't affect our performance but it will effect what we eat and drink on Christmas Day, " says Ulster's fullback Bryn Cunningham, but he should consider himself lucky that he's not a Connacht player. The visiting troops will depart Galway for Belfast late on Christmas Day to prepare for the fixture, an itinerary that will surely drain whatever seasonal cheer a professional rugby player possesses at this time of year.

Not that it's a trip Connacht look forward to taking at any time of the year.

Michael Bradley's side have played three Celtic League fixtures in Belfast since the advent of the competition, and they've yet to come any way close to putting so much as a dent in Ulster's proud home record. Their substandard away defeat in Montpellier last weekend will hardly help their confidence heading into this particular encounter, but at least they have the carrot of trying to put right what went badly wrong in the south of France.

"It was one of our worst performances of the season, " said the side's captain, John Fogarty. "We let ourselves down over there and there's no excusing that. But that's in the past and we've got to ensure that we don't perform like that again, starting against Ulster."

In the context of the Magners League, the only competition both these sides retain any interest in following recent results, Connacht sit 13 points behind leaders Ulster before the start of play, a not insurmountable margin when you consider the points system employed by the competition. Heading into the game, Mark McCall's side are protecting a 12-match unbeaten record at home and it's something they're not too keen on giving up anytime soon. With the retention of their Magners League crown the sole Ulster aim for the rest of the season, they're taking this game pretty seriously but as you'd expect for the time of year, goodwill to all men and all that kind of malarkey, Ulster aren't talking big, just respectful. "Connacht are a good solid side with no superstars but they have no obvious weak links either, " says Cunningham.

"They are getting better every season and we have to stamp our authority on the game and dictate it. We are totally focused on winning this one and hopefully we can put on an entertaining game."

Entertainment, however, won't be, or at least shouldn't be, on Connacht's agenda heading into this game. If they are to cause a surprise, and propel themselves closer to a 2007/8 Heineken Cup spot in the process, they'll have to do everything within their power to make the game as messy as possible. Ulster aim to keep games fairly structured. They use the boot of David Humphreys to earn territory and from there, they work in half a dozen planned backline moves - the cross kick, the inside pass to the onrushing blindside winger and so forth - to put opponents away. When everything goes according to plan, they're extremely difficult to beat but Michael Bradley's side are more than capable of making themselves sufficiently awkward so as to disturb Ulster's rhythm. The home side should still have enough to win out, just about, but they're unlikely to have it all their own way.