Connacht have named their team for the clash, and they will line out without Ireland international Gavin Duffy, who has failed to recover from a jaw injury. Troy Nathan will slot into full back in Duffy’s absence.
Listen to Connacht v Montpellier in the Amlin Challenge Cup and Ulster v Edinburgh in the Heineken Cup on RTÉ Radio's European Rugby Special presented by Robbie Irwin from 7.30pm to 10pm on LW252 and Radio 1 Extra on Friday night.
Flying wing Fionn Carr, half-back pair Ian Keatley and Frank Murphy, and dynamic hooker Sean Cronin are also named in the starting XV while Muldoon will captain the side from number eight while Brett Wilkinson has been passed fit to line out prop after recovering from a hand injury sustained in the defeat to Munster on St Stephen's Day.
Muldoon has called on the province's supporters to come out in force on Friday night with the match set to define Connacht's season at European level.
Connacht are top of the table in Pool 2 thanks to their battling 19-22 victory over Montpellier in October. They have 17 points to Montpellier’s 15 and can guarantee quarter-final action and a high seeding in the knock-out stages with victory. Their final match is against winless Madrid and with several Heineken Cup teams due to enter the competition, securing as high a seeding as possible is key.
The knock-out stages will see the top four pool winners in the five challenge cup pools take home quarter-finals. The next three spots will be occupied by Heineken Cup teams, with the eighth going to the Challenge Cup pool winner with the lowest points total.
Connacht team to play Montpellier at the Sportsground on Friday, 15 January (7pm):
Connacht: Troy Nathan; Liam Bibo, Niva Ta’auso, Keith Matthews, Fionn Carr; Ian Keatley, Frank Murphy; Brett Wilkinson, Sean Cronin, Robbie Morris; Michael Swift, Bernie Upton; Michael McCarthy, Ray Ofisa, John Muldoon (captain).
Replacements: Adrian Flavin, Ronan Loughney, Jamie Hagan, Andrew Browne, George Naoupu, Conor O’Loughlin, Miah Nikora, Adrian Wynne.
