The real ECC begins tonight, and apart from the Zebre match obviously, there are some exciting-looking match ups.

Glasgow v Leicester

The Warriors have had a pretty good start to the PRO12 season, but haven’t faced the stiffest of opposition. A home win over Leinster is the most notable, but I still fancy them to gear up for this tournament and win the first match.

The Tigers have been slightly hot and cold in the Aviva Premiership, including a resounding win over Bath and a defeat away at Sale. It should be close, but home advantage swings it for me. Glasgow by 2.

Wasps v Zebre

Wasps by plenty for a big bonus-point win. Wasps by 48.

Leinster v Castres

Leinster will fancy their chances of a decent run in this tournament, and shouldn’t have too much trouble against Castres, a side they beat by 42 points in 2015.

I haven’t seen the teams yet, but my hunch is that Castres won’t focus too much on the European Cup, to make sure they stay alive in the Top 14. Leinster by 18.

Toulon v Saracens

You’d normally pick Toulon to win at home, but it hasn’t been a great start to the season for them, which has included a defeat at home to Brive last month. They have looked a bit sharper since then by all accounts, but I’m leaning towards Saracens.

The reigning champions will be excited about this trip to kick off the defence of their trophy in emphatic style. Saracens by 4.

Connacht v Toulouse

The PRO12 champions have had two much-needed victories after a dreadful start to the season, and they’ll have more confidence going into this game.

The French side has not won away from home this season yet, and they won’t be relishing a trip to Galway, but on paper they still have more to offer than Connacht. Toulouse by 3.

Northampton v Montpellier

This is another good-looking fixture – it looks like an obvious pick for the home team, but the Saints have not been firing so far, with just two wins from 6 games. The fixtures have not been kind to them, but the table still shows them in 9th.

Montpellier sit third in the Top 14 table, including two away wins incredibly, suggesting they could be more than a match for Saints. But, they’ve had a run of fairly easy fixtures, and French teams are still crap away from home. Northampton by 8.

Scarlets v Sale Sharks

The only Welsh side in the tournament really has to win this game to stand a chance, and I think they’ll do it because the Sharks are not a great away team. Scarlets by 7.

Bordeaux v Ulster

Bordeaux has had a reasonable start to the season, but again the fixtures have been kind to them and their 4th placed ranking is unlikely to last.

Ulster has been in fine form, save for a defeat at Connacht last time out, but I’d suggest they already had one eye on this tournament, and will kick things off with an away win. Ulster by 4.

Racing 92 v Munster

This is the evenly matched group that also contains Glasgow and Leicester, and in which winning home games will be paramount. Munster had always mastered the art of picking up losing bonus points on their travels, and I think that’s the best they can hope for in this match.

Racing has not lost at home yet this season, and I think they’ll win this one and deny that Munster BP. Racing by 11.

Exeter v Clermont

This is very difficult to call. Clermont will be favourites, but as you might have gathered, I’m always loathe to pick a French team away from home.

That said, they have only lost one match so far this season (by 2 points away at Toulon), and I suspect they’ll have too much for Exeter in this one. Clermont by 3.

Let me know what you think of these predictions, and tell me where I’m going wrong!

Follow Hutch on Twitter: @Hutch_James