Top 14: Round 10 preview

France's European contenders go head-to-head for domestic honours this weekend as Toulouse host Perpignan and Clermont visit Biarritz.

Toulon travel to the capital for a high-profile showdown at the Stade de France as they look to put their Heineken Cup disappointment behind them against Stade Français.

It's as tight as could be at the top of the standings with just two points separating the leading five clubs and just five points - the equivalent of a bonus-point win - between first and ninth.

Leaders Racing kick-off the weekend's action on Friday night at home to early pacesetters Bayonne, while Montpellier will fancy their chances of regaining the top spot when they host struggling Bourgoin.

Elsewhere, relegation candidates Agen must visit impressive Castres whilst newcomers La Rochelle are at home to Brive.

Momentum

Having lost just twice in the last seven Top 14 games (and picking up a bonus point of both occasions) Racing Metro will look to continue their rich vein of form against Bayonne.

Bayonne by contrast will be looking to regain some momentum after three consecutive defeats, including two at home pulled the hand brake on a super start to the season.

The Basques will however take some confidence from their win over Harlequins in the Challenge Cup a fortnight ago.

Racing-Metro are still without full-back/centre Francois Steyn (calf), fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez (thigh) and wing Benjamin Fall (back). Skipper Lionel Nallet and scrum-half Nicolas Durand are also being rested.

Scrum-half Mathieu Lorée takes over the captaincy for les Franciliens in a largely unchanged back-line.

Bayonne welcome back fly-half Benjamin Boyet and prop Denis Avril but lock Dwayne Haare and prop Clément Baïocco are on the injury list. Joe Pietersen is on the bench.

Arguably the two best packs in France face off at Toulouse's 37,000-seater municipal stadium as the hosts welcome Perpignan on Saturday.

Perpignan have not claimed a league win in Toulouse in 30 years (although they did sneak one in the Challenge Yves-du-Manoir back in 1993).

Yet the Catalans will arrive in the Ville Rose with a fair amount of confidence. Undefeated in six domestic games, the former champs came from behind to grab a five-try win over Treviso last weekend.

Les Toulousains have not won the domestic title since 2008, a statistic that wouldn't be alarming to most people. But to manager Guy Novès it amounts to failure.

Toulouse will be looking to their evergreen centre Yannick Jauzion again on Saturday to lead from the front as the 32-year-old Test veteran has done on so many occasions.

Even more satisfying for Jauzion is that the player who threatened his number one spot in the national side, Maxime Mermoz - who left Toulouse for Perpignan having given up on ever displacing the older man - will not play against his former team-mates due to a shoulder injury that is taking longer to heal than initially expected.

Pumas lock Patrice Albacete makes his return after a four-week lay-off. More good news for the hosts is that Frédéric Michalak is now taking part in group training as he returns from seven months off after rupturing his knee ligaments.

For Perpignan, Olivier Olibeau (knee), Jean-Pierre Perez (knee), Grégory Le Corvec (back), Farid Sid (back) and Rimas Alvarez-Kairélis (knee) are ruled out.

One point off the top spot and leading their Challenge Cup group, Fabien Galthié will be aiming for a bonus point on Saturday as Montpellier welcome back some key players against Bourgoin.

Montpol's European success is all the more impressive as they beat Exeter and Newcastle without French internationals Fulgence Ouedraogo, Julien Tomas and François Trinh-Duc, who will all be back this weekend.

Unbeaten

In stark contrast, things couldn't be worse for Bourgoin, who are used to struggling in the Top 14 but have usually done well in the Challenge Cup. Two losses have virtually eliminated from European competition and if they don't come right soon, les Berjalliens can say good-bye to the Top 14.

Injury news isn't good for the visitors either with no less than sixteen players crocked including influential goal-kicker Sébastien Laloo.

Rock-bottom with just a single win to show for their efforts, Agen must now travel to a Castres side that surprised many in the Heineken Cup.

Castres have been inconsistent this year but are unbeaten at home, where they have claimed the scalps of Toulouse, Racing, Bayonne and Brive.

Agen will be encouraged by the win over Gloucester in the Challenge Cup but might very well be concentrating on next week's crunch clash with fellow relegation candidates La Rochelle.

Just one point clear of the drop zone, La Rochelle desperately need a win over Brive this weekend in order to end their six-game losing streak. Two wins in the Challenge Cup would have boosted morale but they won't count in the battle to avoid relegation.

Crucially, les Maritimes have picked up a few bonus points along the way, notably in Perpignan.

Brive put 116 points past El Salvador last week but les Corréziens will be far more concerned with picking up only their fourth win this season - a must if they are to stay in contact with the race for the play-offs.