Benetton Rugby entertain four-time league winners Ospreys as the Italians look for their second win of the Guinness PRO14 season at 7.35pm on Friday evening. What’s at stake? Ospreys will be aiming to bounce back from two successive defeats when they travel to Italy on Friday evening. The Welsh side’s only victory so far this season came against Italian opposition in the form of Zebre, when they prevailed 22-13 at the Liberty Stadium. Benetton, meanwhile, are basking in the glory of an away victory in Edinburgh and won this very fixture last season, 13-5, at the Monigo Stadium. Team news (Benetton): The Italian side have made four changes from their victory over Edinburgh as they are without the injured Tommaso Allan, Enjel Makelara and Marco Riccioni but can recall Marty Banks, Robert Barbieri and Ignacio Brex to the matchday squad. Team news (Ospreys): Rhys Webb returns to the Ospreys starting line-up for the first time this season following his summer exploits with the British & Irish Lions. Dan Biggar also makes his first start for the Welsh outfit having come off the bench in their defeat to Munster last weekend. Alun Wyn Jones is back in the matchday squad for the first time in the Guinness PRO14 as Steve Tandy makes seven changes form the 21-16 loss to last season’s beaten finalists. Talking points: All eyes will be on Ospreys returning Lions as Webb, Biggar and Jones look to help ignite Ospreys’ stuttering start to the campaign. The influential pairing of Webb and Biggar will need to hit the ground running in Italy. In contrast Benetton will be filled with confidence following their stirring comeback against Edinburgh, their first away win in the league after 41 consecutive defeats. Key Battle: Angelo Esposito helped ignite a stunning turnaround against Edinburgh last week which two tries either side of half time to clinch the game. One of the league’s highest carriers after three rounds, 29 in total, Esposito could be crucial for Kieran Crowley’s side. Keelan Giles lines up on the wing for Ospreys and was instrumental in their only victory this season, dotting down twice against Zebre. No Ospreys player has made more breaks than the 19-year-old this season and could help exact revenge for last season’s defeat in Italy. Key Stat: No player has made more tackles in the Guinness PRO14 than Welsh player of the year Justin Tipuric, 43. Did you know? Benetton are looking for back-to-back league victories for the first time since February 2016, when they beat Cardiff Blues and the Dragons. Benetton: J Hayward; A Esposito, T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, L Sperandio; I McKinley, E Gori; A De Marchi, L Bigi, S Ferrari; F Ruzza, M Fuser, F Minto, A Steyn, D Budd, Replacements: F Zani, C Traore, T Pasquali, R Barbieri, M Barbini, T Tebaldi, M Banks, I Brex Ospreys: D Evans; K Giles, B John, J Hook, J Hassler; D Biggar, R Webb; N Smith, S Baldwin, M Fia; B Davies, A Beard; O Cracknell, J Tipuric, D Baker Replacements: S Otten, G Thomas, R Jones, A Jones, J King, T Habberfield, S Davies, K Fonotia TV: BBC Two Wales (KO 7.35pm) Match officials – Referee: George Clancy (IRFU), AR1: Joy Neville (IRFU) AR2: Claudio Blessano (FIR) TMO: Kevin Beggs (IRFU) Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie
