Celtic League/Edinburgh v Ulster: Ulster coach Mark McCall is able to call on a number of international names that were involved in the Irish squad over the last few weeks.
Today's side to face Edinburgh has Andrew Trimble taking his place in the centre, as distinct from the wing, where he scored a try for Ireland against France last weekend. Frontrow and Ulster captain Simon Best is also included in a strong line-up.
McCall will travel to Scotland knowing Ulster are the Celtic League's best away team, winning four of their six games on the road this season and securing 17 league points in the process.
The sides are not unknown to each other; they have met in battle no less than 11 times, with Todd Blackadder's side winning just one of those games. That was four years ago at Ravenhill Road and the margin was a point (19-18).
More recently Ulster have had the upper hand, though Edinburgh are two points ahead of them on the league table with 41 points to Ulster's 39.
When they met in September last year in Belfast, Trimble and Tommy Bowe, who is unavailable for today, scored a try each, but David Humphreys stole the show with six penalties and a conversion in the 30-23 win.
Ulster won 36-34 in December 2004 and 17-16 just a few months earlier at Murrayfield.
But Ulster have a solid look with Humphreys and Issac Boss in the halfbacks and James Topping and Paul Steinmetz again adding an international flavour.
Justin Harrison and Matt McCullough form an abrasive secondrow partnership, and international flanker Neil Best is also admirable in that department on the openside.
Edinburgh captain and Scotland wing Chris Paterson has recently committed himself to the club for a further two years. His signature was the sixth in a line of high-profile Scotland players to reaffirm their commitment to Edinburgh.
Paterson follows his vice-captain, Scott Murray, who has been suspended for three weeks, prop Allan Jacobsen, scrumhalf Mike Blair, who is also omitted, winger Simon Webster and fullback Hugo Southwell, who is replaced by Francisco Leonelli.
So Edinburgh will field a side with a few familiar international faces missing.
Still, history indicates the two sides are very close, and though Ulster have had the edge, the margin has been tight, an aspect of the teams' rivalry that could be extended tonight.
EDINBURGH: F Leonelli; S Webster, PO Godman, M Dey, M Pyke; D Hodge, R Lawson (capt); A Jacobsen, A Kelly, A Dickinson; A Strokosch, D Duley; M Mustchin, S Cross, D Callam. Replacements: D Hall, C Smith, A MacDonald, F Pringle, A Monro, P Jorgensen, N De Luca.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; J Topping, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, A Maxwell; D Humphreys, I Boss; B Young, R Best, S Best (capt); J Harrison, M McCullough; N Best, S Ferris, R Wilson. Replacements: N Brady, J Fitzpatrick, R Frost, N McMillan, C Campbell, A Larkin, J Bell.
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (WRU).
