Heineken Cup Pool 6: Edinburgh v Gloucester match preview
Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons has named nine Scotland internationals in his starting line up to take on Gloucester.
Last Updated: 08/12/13 12:32pm
The Murrayfield pool clash marks Edinburgh's 100th Heineken Cup fixture.
All four teams in the group - which is completed by two-time champions Munster and Perpignan - go into the weekend with one win from the opening two rounds, with Edinburgh and Gloucester level on four points.
The hosts can take confidence from their consistently improving home from, winning four consecutive matches at Murrayfield, that started with their round one win over Munster in October.
Solomons has made two changes to the side that recorded a four-try win over Connacht last weekend, with Scotland internationals Ross Ford and Grant Gilchrist returning from calf and shoulder injuries respectively.
Consequently, Aleki Lutui and Ollie Atkins move to the bench where they are joined by scrum-half Grayson Hart, who has been rewarded for his impressive form for Gala, and Joaquin Dominguez, who replaces the ineligible Sam Beard.
Meanwhile, in the absence of injured club captain Tom Savage, centre Billy Twelvetrees will captain Gloucester.
Savage is ruled out having picked up a knock in last Friday's game against the Leicester Tigers, so vice captain Twelvetrees will wear the skipper's armband at Murrayfield.
It's a strong line up which features all five of the players who trained with England ahead of the recent November Tests, as well as the return of Sione Kalamafoni, who has been on international duty with Tonga.
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Tonks, 14 Fife, 13 De Luca, 12 Atiga, 11 Cuthbert, 10 Leonard, 9 Laidlaw (c), 8 Denton, 7 Rennie, 6 du Preez, 5 van der Westhuizen, 4 Gilchrist, 3 Nel, 2 Ford, 1 Dickinson
Replacements: 16 Lutui, 17 Blaauw, 18 Cross, 19 Atkins, 20 Grant, 21 Hart, 22 Dominguez, 23 TBrown
Gloucester: 15 Cook, 14 Thomas, 13 Trinder, 12 Twelvetrees (c), 11 May, 10 Burns, 9 Cowan, 8 Morgan, 7 Kvesic, 6 Kalamafoni, 5 Hudson, 4 Stooke, 3 Knight, 2 Dawidiuk, 1 Thomas
Replacements: 16 Edmonds, 17 Murphy, 18 Harden, 19 Hicks, 20 Cox, 21 Robson, 22 Tindall, 23 Reynolds