The race for the Heineken Cup silverware is hotting up © Getty Images

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Tournaments/Tours: Heineken Cup | Amlin Challenge Cup

Teams: England | France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland | Wales

The quarter-final line-up for this season's Heineken Cup is taking shape following the penultimate round of pool action.

The six pool winners and the two best runners-up will make up the Heineken Cup quarter-final line-up later this year but there is a euro lifeline for three other runners-up in the form of qualification for the Amlin Challenge Cup knock-out stages.

The last eight in the Heineken Cup has been decided with Northampton, Leinster, Toulon, Toulouse, Ulster, Biarritz, Perpignan and Leicester all assured of their places among Europe's elite, although the seedings are yet to be finalised.

Northampton's place was secured with victory over Edinburgh while Leinster booked their passage by beating Saracens. Toulon joined them following their triumph over Munster and defending champions Toulouse made it five wins from five against the Dragons.

In the final round of action, Ulster booked their place with a simple win over Aironi, although the Irish side were beated to top spot in Pool 4 by Biarritz, who coasted past Bath.

The battle for the final places will reach a climax in Round 6 that will also decide the all-important ranking and quarter-final pairings. Ahead of those games it is worth remembering that no team has qualified as pool winners or as a runner up on less than four wins. And since bonus points were introduced no team has qualified as a pool winner on less than 18 points. In addition, since bonus points were introduced no team has qualified as one of the best runners-up on less than 19 points.

So who is in the mix and what do they need to progress?

Pool 1:
Northampton have qualified as pool winners and booked a home quarter-final with their away win over Castres in round six - also finishing with a 100% record in the tournament to date.

Pool 2:
Leinster have qualified as pool winners and their Round 6 victory ove Racing Metro assures them of a home quarter-final. Clermont Auvergne's win against Saracens kept their hopes of progressing alive but they will have to wait on the weekend's other results.

Pool 3:
Toulon have qualified as pool winners but their round six defeat to the Ospreys means that they will not be hosting a quarter-final. Munster's win over London Irish keeps them in the hunt in the Challenge Cup.

Pool 4:
Biarritz have progressed as pool winners after their bonus-point victory over Bath, while Ulster will also make the last eight as a best runner-up - their first quarter-final since 1999, when they went all the way.

Pool 5:
Perpignan routed the Scarlets 37-5 at the Stade Aime Giral on Sunday to win the group, with Leicester progressing as runners-up following a hammering of Treviso at Welford Road.

Pool 6:
Toulouse have qualified as pool winners while London Wasps have seen their hopes extinguished.

For the quarter-final round, the pool winners will be ranked 1-6 in terms of the number of points earned. The runners-up will be ranked 7 and 8.

The current ranking (Played/Points):
1. Northampton (Q) - P6/25pts
2. Leinster (Q) - P6/24pts
3. Perpignan(Q) - P6/22pts
4. Biarritz (Q) - P6/22pts
5. Toulouse (Q) - P5/21pts
6. Toulon (Q) - P6/17pts
7. Leicester (q) - P6/22pts
8. Ulster (q) - P6/22pts

Teams ranked 1-4 will have home advantage. The quarter-finals will be:
Team 1 v Team 8
Team 2 v Team 7
Team 3 v Team 6
Team 4 v Team 5

The three next best Heineken Cup runners-up (the third, fourth and fifth best) will qualify for the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals. The top four Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners will have home advantage with the quarter-finalists ranked accordingly:

1 ACC 1 (Top ranked ACC Pool winner)
2 ACC 2 (Second ranked ACC Pool winner)
3 ACC 3 (Third ranked ACC Pool winner)
4 ACC 4 (Fourth ranked ACC Pool winner)
5 Heineken Cup 1
6 Heineken Cup 2
7 Heineken Cup 3
8 ACC 5 (Fifth ranked ACC Pool winner)

The quarter-final pairings will be:
1 (ACC 1) v 8 (ACC 5)
2 (ACC 2) v 7 (Heineken Cup 3)
3 (ACC 3) v 6 (Heineken Cup 2)
4 (ACC 4) v 5 (Heineken Cup 1)