The Bulls are effectively the odd one out on a final weekend of Champions Cup group action in which 23 of the 24 teams stand a chance of advancing to the knock-out phase.

Script writers could not have conjured up a better finish to the first four weeks of the prestigious European competition – the top spot in each Pool is still undecided with one game to go, while the bottom teams can theoretically still be alive in the Champions Cup after this weekend.

With the exception of theBulls, who can manage to qualify for the EPCR Challenge Cup if they win their final Pool 3 encounter against Stade Francais at Loftus.

They will need to do more than that in the only Champions Cup game to be played on South African soil this weekend – they will need to win with a bonus point and a big points differential and also deny their French opponents a bonus point.

The men from Pretoria cannot make it to the fourth position required to stay alive in the Champions Cup because the team that beat them last week, Castres, are out of range of the South African side with their advantage of nine points.

Castres can though be overtaken by fifth placed Stade, so there is arguably a lot more to play for for the visitors to Loftus than the hosts. Castres visit Saracens for their final game on Sunday and a win there will be enough for them to secure a place in the Champions Cup round of 16 regardless of what happens in Pretoria.

Whatever the case may be, it should still be an enthralling encounter at Lofus. Kick off is at 15:00.

YOU CAN FOLLOW THE BULLS V STADE FRANCAIS LIVE SCORING BELOW:

Here are the kick off times in the Champions Cup

Bulls v Stade Francais Paris
Date: Saturday, 18 January
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
SA Time: 15h00
Referee: Adam Leal
TV: SuperSport

The Champions Cup standings:

Pool 1: Bordeaux Begles 15, Toulouse 14, Leicester Tigers 11, Hollywoodbets Sharks 5, Ulster 0, Exeter Chiefs 0.

Pool 2: Leinster 13, La Rochelle 10, Bath 7, Benetton 7, Clermont-Auvergne 5, Bristol Bears 5.

Pool 3: Northampton Saints 11, Munster 10, Saracens 10, Castres 9, Stade Francais 5, Vodacom Bulls 0.

Pool 4: Toulon 13, Glasgow Warriors 12, Harlequins 5, DHL Stormers 5, Sale Sharks 5, Racing 92 4.

What about the Cheetahs and Lions?

Both the Cheetahs and Lions managed to keep alive their aspirations of reaching the EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16.

The Cheetahs registered their first victory in the EPCR Challenge Cup as they snatched a late 22-18 win against Zebre Parma in Amsterdam, but it proved to be a disappointing round for the Lions, who went down 28-5 against Montpellier in France.

The Cheetahs’ victory saw them finish the penultimate pool round in fifth place tied on six points with the fourth-placed Perpignan, while the Lions are also in fifth place in their pool level on five points with the fourth-placed Dragons – also with one round remaining.

WHAT ARE YOUR SCORE PREDICTIONS?

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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/bulls/live-scoring-bulls-v-stade-francais/