Munster have been one of the in-form teams this season, winning all four of their matches so far, and they boast the bragging rights of being one of only three unbeaten teams in the competition.

Leinster and Ulster are the other two unbeaten sides after their five matches.

A victory for Munster, which will stretch their winning run to five matches, will mark their best start in the Guinness PRO14 in 11 years.

In Conference A, meanwhile, an interesting tussle is developing between log leaders and defending champions, Leinster, and the second-placed Ulster, who trail by only two points.

While Leinster have kept rolling along, Ulster have become incrementally stronger in each game, and their trip to Parma to face Zebre on Monday night will be an opportunity to build further momentum.

They were excellent in dispatching the Glasgow Warriors 40-15 earlier this week and although Zebre have shown flashes of form recently, the Irish giants with Springbok looseforward Marcell Coetzee very much their talisman, should be expected to win.

Leinster have a tougher assignment this week at home, as Richard Cockerill’s Edinburgh started this season poorly, perhaps suffering from the hangover of losing their first home Semi-final against Ulster at the end of the 2019/2020 season, which is expected to motivate them.

However, they have won two on the bounce and will go to Dublin with confidence.

The knowledge that they would have travelled to Dublin to play Leinster in last season’s final had Ulster not tripped them up in the final quarter of their Semi-final at Murrayfield is also expected to inspire them as it could be final that never happened.

In the other matches, Connacht, who hosts Scarlets in the opening game of the weekend on Saturday night, and Benetton, who will travel to Newport to play the Cardiff Blues on Monday, will be pleased to return to the field again after COVID-19 precautions kept them off the field for the past two weeks.

Guinness PRO14 fixtures (in SA Time):

Saturday, 14 November:

23h35: Connacht v Scarlets – The Sportsground, Galway

Sunday, 15 November:

18h45: Munster v Ospreys – Thomond Park, Limerick

Monday, 16 November:

21h00: Zebre v Ulster – Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

23h45: Cardiff Blues v Benetton – Rodney Parade, Newport

00h15: Leinster v Edinburgh – RDS Arena, Dublin