The 2008 Heineken Cup gets under way on Saturday with this season's final taking place at Scotland's home of rugby, Murrayfield.
Glasgow start out with a visit to the Dragons, where they opened this season's Magners League with a win, while Edinburgh host Leinster, aiming to avenge a recent 52-6 mauling in Ireland.
Widely tipped to make a league challenge this season, Edinburgh have slumped to four defeats from five outings and skipper Mike Blair hopes a new challenge can help kick-start their campaign.
"It's great to have a different focus," said the Scotland scrum-half.
"Although we haven't been playing that well, we've been very close.
"In the last couple of games, if we'd won those games instead of losing them by two or three points, we'd be sitting third or fourth in the Magners League. There are very fine lines between results.
"We'll certainly be going into the game on Saturday in good spirits and hope to put one over Leinster at Murrayfield again."
And Blair can take heart from the fact Leinster have lost on their last four visits to the Scottish capital.
"This first game is a key fixture," added Blair. "If we win, it puts us in a great position when we go to Castres the following week.
"If we lose, it puts us in real trouble because it means we've got to win one, possibly two games away to qualify."
Winning a Heineken Cup match away from home is something Edinburgh, who also face Guinness Premiership champions Wasps in Pool 2, have not managed since 2004, the only time they got beyond the pool stages.
Glasgow have never managed to reach the knockout phase of the tournament, which is in its 14th year.
However, Sean Lineen's side showed signs of promise last season, with a battling win over Biarritz at Firhill and a home and away success against Viadana.
"We're slowly getting there and this event really is the jewel in the crown," Lineen, who must also take on Toulouse and Bath, told BBC Sport.
"The quality of the rugby is outstanding. You only have to look at the number of Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans coming to Europe to play.
"It's great having the final in our own backyard but it would take a massive effort for a Scottish team to get there when you consider the money and squad depth available to other clubs.
"But we have to aim high and we are making small steps in the right direction."
Glasgow have made a slightly brighter start to the Magners League campaign than Edinburgh, with one of their two wins coming at Rodney Parade.
"The fact that we went down there and got a win will give us a bit of confidence," skipper Alastair Kellock told BBC Sport.
"There's no unknown factor for either side and I think it's probably a good thing we are up against a side we are familiar with.
"I've been close to reaching the quarter-finals at both Edinburgh and Glasgow and being close sometimes hurts more than being far away.
"It was a sickener last year because we put ourselves in a position to qualify and we have to do that again; make sure we're going into the final game with an opportunity to progress.
"The guys will be even hungrier than ever and there's a real buzz looking forward to the first game."
The chances of a Scottish team making the final are remote but, with the 17,350 tickets sold already for the May final, home fans clearly have an appetite for Europe's premier rugby event.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?