MATCH THREAD: Glasgow vs Leinster; Scotstoun Sat 21st Oct 13:00; SS Action

Having gone into the game against Montpellier last week nervous about our European season ending before it even began it was fantastic to see Leinster come out with maximum points. It was an incredibly tough encounter with a very nervy finish, but with a number of experienced players missing a lot of younger lads stepped up to the mark. This week Leinster welcome back Scott Fardy, Jonny Sexton and Dan Leavy to their match day squad. Three guys very capable of having a big impact on proceedings. They come up against a Glasgow side who suffered their first loss of the season last week away to Exeter. They'll be keen to make amends for that and to keep their European campaign on track (they didn't even manage to pick up a LBP against the Chiefs) and we all know that you have to win your home games in this competition. Lose this and Glasgow could be all but out of the running already.

Looking through the respective squads and Leinster would appear to have the better pack and the better half backs. The Glasgow back three looks very threatening, although this will be Stuart Hoggs first game in 5 months so there may be some rustiness there from him. Regardless this is one area where Glasgow have a very clear advantage. On the bench Leinster have some serious impact to bring on up front. Gibson-Park put in a good shift off the bench last week while Ross Byrne was one of those who really stepped up against Montpellier. His defensive work alone was impressive and he seems to be growing into the role at a steady pace. I'd have it as advantage Leinster here too.

Leinster haven't won in Glasgow since 2012 and since then the Scottish side have improved a great deal. Leinster will need to dominate this game up front and use the quick linespeed we saw against Munster to shut down the wider channels. If games really are won by forwards then Leinster should be looking to take the win. But in Scotstoun, on that surface against a very good Glasgow team it is going to be difficult. I'm backing Henshaw to have another big game and VDF to put in a MOTM type performance though. We may not score a whole load of tries and the game may be on a knife edge for the majority, but I think this Leinster selection has enough in it to get the result.

Leinster by 2.