Glasgow have a chance to hit back immediately as they kick a penalty to the corner.

Connacht defend the maul well and the subsequent phases until Rory Darge is stripped in contact, but we'll come back for another penalty 5m from the Connacht line.

Connacht on the front foot immediately and force an early penalty which they kick to the corner.

The rolling maul is repelled, the Irish side have a few blasts at the Glasgow line but are ultimately held up and Warriors escape.

Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer

Sensational weather in Glasgow. Perfect for two teams who want to play ambitious rugby. Really looking forward to this. This could be a wild ride

Connacht fly-half Josh Ioane gets us under way at Scotstoun.

The Scotstoun crowd pays tribute with a minute's applause to Scotland and Lions legend Scott Hastings who passed away recently at the age of 61.

A touching and fitting tribute to one of the true greats of Scottish rugby.

Image source, SNS

The teams are making their way onto the field and we are just about ready to go at Scotstoun.

It's been a pretty wet day in Glasgow, but the clouds have parted and the Scotstoun pitch is now bathed in sunshine. Perfect conditions for a game of rugby.

It's a sell-out here tonight and there are quite a few green jerseys dotted around the place so Connacht will have a bit of support here in Glasgow too.

Scotland second row Scott Cummings returns from injury to make his first Glasgow Warriors appearance for four months.

Cummings, who last played for Franco Smith's side in January, has been out since suffering a calf injury in Scotland's Six Nations win over France in March.

The British and Irish Lions international replaces the injured Gregor Brown while Patrick Schickerling starts at loosehead having been rested for last weekend's away win at Ulster.

Matt Fagerson and Rory Darge both return in the back-row having also missed the trip to Ulster, but Jamie Dobie remains out.

Connacht are boosted by the return of forwards Dylan Tierney-Martin and Darragh Murray in two of five changes made by coach Stuart Lancaster.

Tierney-Martin replaces Eoin de Buitléar at hooker, while Sam Illo starts place of Finlay Bealham at tight-head prop.

In the second row, Joe Joyce drops out to accommodate Murray's return, while Paul Boyle comes in for the injured Sean Jansen at number eight in a back row that also contains team captain Cian Prendergast and Shamus Hurley-Langton.

The sole change in the backs sees John Devine in for the injured Harry West at outside centre and will play alongside Bundee Aki.

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn, Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Rowe, Dan Lancaster, George Horne; Patrick Schickerling, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Alex Samuel, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.

Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Sam Talakai, Jare Oguntibeju, Euan Ferrie, Sione Vailanu, Jack Oliver, Ollie Smith.

Connacht: Sam Gilbert, Shane Jennings, John Devine, Bundee Aki, Shayne Bolton, Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Billy Bohan, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Sam Illo, Josh Murphy, Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Paul Boyle

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Peter Dooley, Finlay Bealham, Joe Joyce, Sean O’Brien, Matthew Devine, Hugh Gavin, Seán Naughton.

Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer

Glasgow dare not make a mess of this on Friday or else their season, that promised so much only a few short weeks ago, will go up in a puff of smoke. That fear should focus their mind. They let one fantastic opportunity slip against Toulon so they must be driven to the high heavens to avoid a repeat.

There is a subplot in all of this in that Lancaster Snr is coaching against Lancaster Jnr - Stuart versus his son, Dan, the Glasgow fly-half. Both of them committed to a vow of silence during the week. No wonder.

For Glasgow this is a must-win. In the subconscious mind of some of their supporters they have probably already won. The visitors are a strong, cohesive unit but there are few stellar names in there. There's Bundee Aki, getting better with age, and Cian Prendergast, the captain and back-row. Darragh Murray is not box office but the lock scored for Ireland against Scotland in the Six Nations in the spring.

Beyond that, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Clever players who are loaded with confidence if not marquee appeal.

Read Tom English's full preview here.

It's United Rugby Championship quarter-final action from Scotstoun tonight as Glasgow Warriors take on Connacht for a place in the semi-finals.

It's first versus eighth in the regular season standings, but this could be a lot closer than those positions suggest.

Glasgow finished top of the table and are formidable at home, but Connacht have found some great form at the business end of the season, winning eight of their last nine matches.