SARACENS have the experience and pedigree; Clermont, the explosive power. When the pair meet at BT Murrayfield today in the European Champions Cup final, the outcome is likely to be determined by the ability of the English club to withstand the expected French onslaught.

As the holders, Saracens know what it takes to win this competition, and this season have again shown the enviable ability to raise their game when it matters most. They did not quite have to be at their best to defeat Glasgow Warriors in the quarter-final, but then played imperiously in the semi-final to beat Munster at Thomond Park, one of the toughest venues in the continent.

On neutral territory they should therefore be favourites, but Mark McCall, their director of rugby, is well aware of Clermont’s ability to stun opponents with a high-tempo start. When asked to predict how the game would unfold, however, he sounded quietly confident that his players could roll with the punches and end up on top.

“When they’re at their very best, Clermont start games very strongly and quickly,” he said. “If that does happen, I think we’ve got enough experience to deal with that. I think the game will be close. These games tend to be won in the last 20 minutes.”

Resilience and relentlessness were the qualities in his own side highlighted by Saracens captain Brad Barritt, and if those traits are there in abundance the psychological pressure on Clermont, who lost to Toulon in the finals of 2013 (under former Scotland coach Vern Cotter) and 2015, will be immense. The French team have won the Challenge Cup twice, but the fact that they have lost 11 of their 12 Top 14 finals suggests a chronic inability to deal with the big occasion. Their head coach Franck Azema, however, prefers to stress his team’s ability to get to finals in the first place.

“I know the history of the club, and we’re very proud of what we have done in the past and our ability to get to finals, and to win titles and lose titles as well,” he said. “We’re very consistent and our history shows this. We should be proud of it and carry it with us. But we have the opportunity to write a new chapter - not to erase history, but simply to write something new.”

Clermont have named former Saracens winger David Strettle in their squad, and the Englishman claimed he might have ended up playing a lot more of his rugby at Murrayfield had he agreed to an offer more than a decade ago from an unnamed Scottish source. “They offered me a three-year contract, so that I would become eligible for Scotland,” the 33-year-old said. “I just said, ‘Why would I want to play for Scotland?’.

“Maybe I was a bit naïve, but I just told them, ‘I’m not Scottish’. The guy said, ‘That’s okay, you’ll get in on residency after three years’.”

Azema explained that Strettle’s knowledge of his former club would come in useful, but also accepted that Saracens have changed a lot since the winger left in 2015. “It makes it possible to give more meaning to what we have seen in the matches and on video,” the coach said. “We have an understanding of how they play, but it was good to speak to him about certain aspects and have a deeper understanding. But he left two seasons ago and their play has evolved and their players have evolved as well.”

Saracens, who lost to Toulon in the 2014 final, have named Scotland internationals Jim Hamilton and Duncan Taylor on the bench. Kelly Brown, who has announced he will retire at the end of the season, has been left out, as has the injured Sean Maitland, whose place on Scotland’s summer tour remains in jeopardy.

“I’m gutted for Sean to miss out, but very excited to actually get involved,” said Taylor, who himself missed the Six Nations Championship because of injury. “Edinburgh is kind of a home away from home - I’ve got a lot of family that live around here and they’re all excited to come and watch us play. They don’t get to see us very often. Just to be involved in this final means a lot to me and to my family as well.”

Clermont Auvergne (v Saracens at BT Murrayfield, today, 5pm): S Spedding; D Strettle, A Rougerie, R Lamerat, N Abendanon; C Lopez, M Parra; R Chaume, B Kayser, D Zirakashvili, A Iturria, S Vahaamahina, D Chouly, P Yato, F Lee. Substitutes: J Ulugia, E Falgoux, A Jarvis, P Jedrasiak, A Lapandry, L Radosavljevic, P Fernandez, Damian Penaud.

Saracens: A Goode; C Ashton, M Bosch, B Barritt, C Wyles; O Farrell, R Wigglesworth; M Vunipola, J George, V Koch, M Itoje, G Kruis, M Rhodes, J Wray, B Vunipola. Substitutes: S Brits, T Lamositele, P du Plessis, J Hamilton, S Burger, B Spencer, A Lozowski, D Taylor.

Referee: N Owens (Wales).