TOULOUSE: Coach Guy Noves Captain Thierry Dusautoir Player to watch: Maxime Medard HC pedigree: Winners 1996, 2003, 2005

CARDIFF BLUES: Coach David Young Captain Paul Tito Player to watch: Jamie Roberts HC pedigree: Runners-up 1996

SALE SHARKS: Coach Kingsley Jones Captain Dean Schofield Player to watch: Mathew Tait HC pedigree: Quarters 2006

HARLEQUINS: Coach John Kingston Captain Will Skinner Player to watch: Nick Evans HC pedigree: Quarter-finals 1998, 2009

Toulouse, the only team to have won the Heineken Cup three times, do not have quite the same aura of old, but should be strong enough in an intriguing group.

With strike runners like the mesmerising Maxime Medard, they can trip the light fantastic on the back of a hard-core pack led by the brilliant Thierry Dusautoir.

But the Blues beat the French aristocrats in last season's quarter-final, and should have injured Lions Gethin Jenkins and Martyn Williams back in harness for their double-header in December.

"Bloodgate" overshadowed Harlequins' achievement in beating Stade Francais home and away to reach the last eight, and they too cannot be discounted.

Sale, after losing several key individuals, will do well to emulate their quarter-final qualification of three years ago.