Conventional wisdom says that Clermont should have no trouble holding onto first this weekend, as the French Top 14 leaders take on last-place Perpignan.

Sure Perpignan is 0-12, seems destined for relegation and lost 64-28 last week against Racing 92 (despite one opportunistic try worth remembering), but you never know on the day.

Well @racing92 might have scored 10 tries over the weekend but they gave up the softest of soft ones. This pass has derp written all over it. @usap_officiel https://t.co/WXdSy9Zq8f pic.twitter.com/ZX5i7Ehrsd

— FloRugby (@FloRugby) December 24, 2018

Clermont head coach Franck Azema and his forwards coach Bernard Goutta will feel Perpignan's pain. Both men spent some happy years there as players, Goutta making a record 298 appearances for the club, 128 of them as captain.

Watch French Top 14 Games of the Week and Full Weekly Highlights on FloRugby

They both then spent time on the coaching staff and were a part of Jacques Brunel's set-up in 2008-09 when Perpignan blazed a glittering trail to the Top 14 title. The team they beat in the final? Clermont.

“We have enough perspective today to say that this is not the fight of Goutta or Azema," said Azema. "We are at the halfway point in our championship, and if we are challengers then we must get points everywhere, in Perpignan or wherever. I have a lot of respect for Perpignan. I'm happy to go back, it's been a long time but it stops there. We have a specific task to perform out on the pitch."

Watch Clermont vs. Perpignan LIVE on FloRugby (USA Fans), Saturday, 2 p.m. CT

So there’s not much Toulouse can do right now other than keep pace. Stade Touousain will face up-and-down Toulon on Sunday. Newly-caped USA prop David Ainuu is hoping to get more time with the club now that he has an international appearance, although he’s suited up for Toulouse already.

“Playing in my first test was something else, in a good way,” said Ainuu, who earned his first cap against Samoa. “The first game was even more special to me because I played against my own Samoan brothers, and to help the Eagles pull out a win is something I will always remember.”

Ainuu says international rugby and professional club rugby are different animals.

“I think there are a few differences between professional club rugby in general and international rugby, but the biggest difference is the ability to understand each teammates' tendencies,” he said. “In any professional club team, you’re with your teammates pretty much week-in, week-out, so you understand how one runs a line or sets up for a scrum. In international, you only have a few days to understand and observe one another’s abilities and weaknesses. Because of this, the challenge is being able to adapt one's game and understand each other so that the collective can be successful.”

Toulouse has sold 31,000 seats for Sunday evening's meeting with a Toulon side that has shown glimmers of revival in recent weeks in spite of the continued absence of Julian Savea (who is in New Zealand for his brother's wedding).

Meanwhile, Toulouse sits just three points behind Clermont and three ahead of La Rochelle, which collected a valuable win on the road at Pau and now plays host to defending champions Castres. But Castres is struggling and lost badly at home last week to Bordeaux-Begles. 

The arrival of Gregory Alldritt alongside Victor Vito in the back row has given La Rochelle a boost, which has helped it to nine victories in 12 matches in the Top 14.

Watch La Rochelle vs. Castres LIVE on FloRugby (USA Fans), Saturday, 11:30 a.m. CT

Lyon's bid for a playoff place has hit the skids of late with just one win in its last five matches in all competitions, a record it will look to improve upon at Agen, a team whose problems have been largely overlooked only because of Perpignan's pitiful plight.

Racing, in fourth, faces a difficult road trip to fifth-placed Bordeaux, while Pau coach Simon Mannix will be feeling the pressure if his side loses for a sixth-straight game at fellow New Zealander Vern Cotter's Montpellier.

Top 14 Matchups:

Saturday

Lyon (6-5-1, 7th) vs. Agen (3-8-1, 13th)

Stade Francais (7-5, 6th) vs. Grenoble (3-7-2, 12th)

La Rochelle (9-3, 3rd) vs. Castres (6-6, 8th)

Perpignan (0-12, 14th) vs. Clermont (8-2-2, 1st)

Sunday

Montpellier (5-6-1, 9th) vs. Pau (4-8, 11th)

Bordeaux-Begles (7-4-1, 5th) vs. Racing 92 (8-4, 4th)

Toulouse (8-2-2, 2nd) vs. Toulon (5-7, 10th)