Dragons v Ospreys: Teams

Charteris: Ruled out through injury

Dragons coach Darren Edwards had admitted it is "a blow" to lose Luke Charteris for Friday's clash with the Ospreys.

Wales lock Charteris has been ruled out through injury and has is replaced in the second row by flanker Andrew Coombs.

And although Edwards is disappointed to be without his international star, he is confident his side can topple their Welsh rivals.

"It was a blow to lose Luke after last week's game," said Edwards. "Obviously it isn't ideal to have a back row player having to move into the tight five. But Andrew has played lock before and I'm confident that the team will pull together.

"It's not often that we can come into a home match looking to complete the double over a top-three team but although it presents us with a lot of challenges, it also presents with an opportunity to make a little bit of history."

With Coombs moving to the second row, Gavin Thomas returns to the back row - with Edwards also naming Will Harries and Ashley Smith in his side.

Difficult

Ospreys boss Scott Johnson claims his side are in for a "bumpy ride" as they look to secure a place in the play-offs.

With just three games to go, five teams are in the running to join Munster in the end-of-season showdown.

The Ospreys are currently well positioned in third, but Johnson knows his side cannot afford to slip-up.

"It's a big period for us now, we've got three games left to secure a place in the top four and there's everything to play for," he said. "We know what we need to do.

"It's always a very difficult place to go, but we realise that what we need to do is focus on our own preparation, be diligent and thorough about the way we go about things, and ensure that we are clinical on the night. If the players know their jobs and do their homework on the opposition then we are confident that we can put in the level of performance required.

"We're playing a team that enjoy playing at home and have a great record there, including beating Munster earlier this season.

"They are dangerous because they can get continuity into their game over a season, they aren't as affected by international calls as others so they have the same group of players involved all season long, and continuity is the obvious benefit of having less players absent.

"It's going to be a bumpy ride, they'll try to make life difficult for us, but we've got to be professional and rise above that. We have to concentrate on our own job and not be sidetracked by anything else."

Wantaway scrum-half Mike Phillips is a notable omissions from the Ospreys squad, with Rhys Webb set to start and Tom Isaac providing cover from the bench.

Dragons: 15 Will Harries, 14 Adam Hughes, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith (c), 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 1 Phil Price, 2 Lloyd Burns, 3 Ben Castle, 4 Andrew Coombs, 5 Adam Jones, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Gavin Thomas, 8 Toby Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Dan Way, 18 Hugh Gustafson, 19 Lewis Evans, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Matthew Pewtener, 22 Jon Evans, 23 Matthew Jones

Ospreys: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 James Hook, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 1 Paul James, 2 Huw Bennett, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Ryan Jones, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 6 Tom Smith, 7 Marty Holah, 8 Jerry Collins.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Ian Gough, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Tom Isaacs, 22 Sonny Parker, 23 Richard Fussell.