EPCR releases fixtures for all rounds of the 20/21 Champions Cup pool stages. The competition weeks are: Round 1 (December 11, 12, 13), Round 2 (December 18, 19, 20), Round 3 (January 15, 16, 17) and Round 4 (January 22, 23, 24), followed by two-legged quarter-finals (April 2/3/4, 9/10/11)
Thursday 10 December 2020 13:08, UK
Exeter Chiefs will begin their Champions Cup title defence with a home fixture against Glasgow Warriors on Sunday December 13, while the 2020/21 season will open with Northampton Saints vs Bordeaux.
Other standout fixtures from the opening week see Challenge Cup holders Bristol Bears host European powerhouses Clermont Auvergne, Toulon host Sale Sharks and four-time winners Leinster travel to Montpellier.
Round 2, during the weekend of December 18/19/20, sees Exeter travel to face Toulouse in a match-up of last season's semi-finalists, before the Chiefs host Toulouse in Round 3 (January 16) and then complete their pool stage schedule away against Glasgow in Round 4 (January 24).
Organisers announced in September that the Heineken Champions Cup would be expanded to 24 teams in the 2020/21 season to offset the impact of Covid-19.
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) agreed to add four teams to the competition and alter the format for one season to cut one match from the campaign.
The new-look Champions Cup will be split into four pool-stage matches, a two-legged quarter-final, a one-off semi-final and the final in Marseille on May 22, 2021.
The 24 clubs have been split into two pools of 12, and teams from the same country will not face each other in the group stage.
The Premiership, France's Top 14 and the PRO14 will each provide eight teams to the tournament.
Friday, December 11
Northampton Saints vs Bordeaux Begles, 5.30pm
Ulster vs Toulouse, 8pm
Saturday, December 12
Bristol Bears vs Clermont Auvergne, 1pm
RC Toulon vs Sale Sharks, 3.15pm
Bath Rugby vs Scarlets, 3.15pm
Dragons vs Wasps, 5.30pm
Montpellier vs Leinster, 5.30pm
Edinburgh Rugby vs La Rochelle, 8pm
Sunday, December 13
Lyon vs Gloucester Rugby, 1pm
Racing 92 vs Connacht Rugby, 3.15pm
Exeter Chiefs vs Glasgow Warriors, 3.15pm
Munster vs Harlequins, 5.30pm
Round 2
Friday, December 18
Scarlets vs RC Toulon, 5.30pm
Wasps vs Montpellier, 8pm
Saturday, December 19
Leinster vs Northampton Saints, 1pm
Glasgow Warriors vs Lyon, 1pm
La Rochelle vs Bath, 3.15pm
Gloucester vs Ulster, 3.15pm
Clermont Auvergne vs Munster, 5.30pm
Sale Sharks vs Edinburgh, 8pm
Bordeaux Begles vs Dragons, 8pm
Sunday, December 20
Harlequins vs Racing 92, 1pm
Toulouse vs Exeter Chiefs, 3.15pm
Connacht vs Bristol Bears, 5.30pm
Friday, January 15
Northampton Saints vs Leinster, 5.30pm
RC Toulon vs Scarlets, 8pm
Saturday, January 16
Lyon vs Glasgow Warriors, 1pm
Ulster vs Gloucester, 1pm
Exeter Chiefs vs Toulouse, 3.15pm
Edinburgh vs Sale Sharks, 5.30pm
Munster vs Clermont Auvergne, 5.30pm
Montpellier vs Wasps, 8pm
Sunday, January 17
Bath Rugby vs La Rochelle, 1pm
Racing 92 vs Harlequins, 3.15pm
Dragons vs Bordeuax Begles, 3.15pm
Bristol Bears vs Connacht, 5.30pm
Friday, January 22
Leinster vs Montpellier, 5.30pm
Sale Sharks vs RC Toulon, 8pm
Saturday, January 23
Bordeaux Begles vs Northampton Saints, 1pm
Scarlets vs Bath, 1pm
Clermont vs Bristol, 3.15pm
La Rochelle vs Edinburgh, 5.30pm
Harlequins vs Munster, 5.30pm
Wasps vs Dragons, 8pm
Connacht vs Racing 92, 8pm
Sunday, January 23
Gloucester vs Lyon, 1pm
Toulouse vs Ulster, 3.15pm
Glasgow Warriors vs Exeter, 5.30pm
