Mr Positive's men possess the spirit to stand out amid a clash of colours

Quins will be resplendent in their famous blue, magenta, chocolate, French grey, black and green jersey while Stade have opted not to go for the all pink with blue lilies or blue with pink lilies and have instead chosen an Andy Warhol-inspired blue background, featuring a myriad of coloured pictures of a crown-wearing Blanche de Castille, the wife of Louis VIII. Nice.

While Quins' choice of jersey is explained by their name, the reason behind Stade's cornea-burning kit is down to their flamboyant owner, Max Guazzini, who rebranded the club and turned big games at the Stade de France into evenings to match anything on show in the French capital.

When Quins beat Stade in a Heineken Cup pool match in Paris in 2008, the contest was preceded by jousting knights on horseback and an army of cancan dancers.

That all came at a price and now Guazzini is ready to relinquish overall control of Stade to bring in new investors following their poor season. The club finished 11th in the Top 14 and they must win tonight to secure the all-important qualification for the Heineken Cup next season.

Stade are going to have a new head coach, top players will leave in the summer and investment will be needed just to keep them afloat and avoid relegation under penalties imposed on clubs in France who get their sums wrong.

It's hardly the backdrop the players would want going into a match against a Quins side bubbling with enthusiasm and confidence following their 20-12 victory over mighty Munster at Thomond Park in the semi-finals.

It appears Stade need the kind of stability Conor O'Shea has brought to Quins following his appointment as director of rugby to replace the disgraced Dean Richards, who plotted the 'Bloodgate' scandal in 2009 that so severely damaged the club.

Richards was the highest-profile casualty and while the coaching staff remained intact and unblemished, the club needed a new focal point and the choice of O'Shea was inspired.

Called Mr Positive by the players he quickly won over, O'Shea accepts the Bloodgate stain will always remain but knows victory at Cardiff City Stadium tonight will go some way to proving Quins are enjoying a new era under his control.

It is important to remember Quins were not a basket case when O'Shea arrived. They were hugely successful off the pitch, increasing season ticket sales every year, regularly selling out the revamped Twickenham Stoop and boasting England internationals such as Ugo Monye, Nick Easter and Danny Care along with All Blacks No10 Nick Evans, arguably the best fly-half in European rugby.

There was also a crop of excellent young talent headed by centre Jordan Turner-Hall and prop Joe Marler and a coaching team of John Kingston, Colin Osborne and Tony Diprose that had kept the ship afloat during the post-Richards debacle.

What O'Shea has done is give the whole operation a new feel, quickly becoming the figurehead of a squad who go into the final as favourites.

However, while Quins have the joint meanest defence in the Premiership with Saracens, they finished seventh because too many try-scoring opportunities were wasted. They cannot afford to fluff chances against a Stade side boasting world-class individuals who have rarely played as a team this season.

O'Shea said: "It is a massive opportunity to win some silverware. You need a bit of luck but if we play with the right tempo and intensity, we are a pretty difficult side to play against and a very confident side. The guys can't wait. They want to go out and express themselves and do themselves justice.

"You can forget about Stade's league form. They have one of the great young coaches in Michael Cheika [who led Leinster to the Heineken Cup in 2009] and outstanding individuals all across the team. They will be massively disappointed with the Top 14 but this is their shot at redemption. It is a final and both sides are going to be right up for it but we are going to be every bit as hungry, if not hungrier, than them."

Quins have lost just once in the tournament this season - 16-12 at Bayonne in their opening pool match - but gained revenge by defeating the French side 39-17 in January to guarantee a home quarter-final.

O'Shea added: "This has been a great competition to be involved with. We are looking to win a European trophy and, as our results prove, the final will be a tight game and we are going to be firing on all cylinders.

"Look, you don't go to Bayonne, Connacht and then have London Wasps in the quarter-finals and a titanic match with Munster in Thomond Park without knowing there is a level of performance in you that opponents find difficult to deal with."