Cardiff Blues will be looking for their first win of the season when they take on unbeaten Glasgow Warriors at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park in a game that kicks off at 7.35pm. What’s at stake? It has been a fine start to life under Dave Rennie for the Glasgow Warriors as they go into the clash in flying form having won their first two clashes over Connacht and the Ospreys. The Blues, meanwhile, will be desperate to chalk up their first win of the season having already lost to Scottish opposition in the shape of Edinburgh and an away defeat last time out to Leinster. The pair met in round three last season with the Welsh side halting the Warriors’ winning start with an enthralling 23-19 victory over the Scottish outfit, can they repeat the trick again? Team news (Cardiff Blues): Cardiff Blues will be without British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton for at least four months after he underwent surgery on a long-standing neck injury. But coach Danny Wilson will be buoyed by the return to fitness of No.8 Nick Williams while Willis Halaholo also returns at centre. Team news (Glasgow Warriors): Matt Fagerson is the only change in the pack from the Ospreys game, starting at blind-side flanker ahead of Ryan Wilson. Henry Pyrgos will captain the side in Wilson’s absence, starting at scrum-half. Nick Grigg joins the midfield, meaning Alex Dunbar shifts from 13 to 12 and Tommy Seymour makes his first appearance of the season after spending the summer with the Lions. Talking points: All eyes will be on Tim Swinson as he brings up a century of appearances for the Warriors. The 30-year-old joined from Newcastle Falcons in 2012 and helped guide the club to league glory in 2015. He has made a fine start to the Guinness PRO14 season, already producing 31 tackles in two matches, only two players have made more. Key battle: This intriguing clash will see many head-to-heads, but we’ll focus on two flankers in fine fettle, Callum Gibbins and Josh Navidi. No player made more tackles than the New Zealander last time out against the Ospreys, 21, while the big hitting Navidi made an impressive 14 tackles in the Blues’ defeat at Leinster. Key stat: Tim Swinson becomes only the second player in Glasgow history to play 100 times for both the Warriors and another club (Newcastle Falcons), the other being Dougie Hall who represented Edinburgh more than 100 times. Did you know? Glasgow Warriors have beaten Connacht and Ospreys in the opening two rounds, but have not started a Guinness PRO14 campaign with three successive wins since 2014/15, when they went on to take the title. Cardiff Blues: R Williams; A Cuthbert, R Lee-Lo, W Halaholo, T James; S Shingler, L Williams; R Gill; M Rees, K Assiratti, S Davies, D Welch, J Turnbull, J Navidi, N Williams. Replacements: K Myhill, B Thyer, D Lewis, G Earle, M Cook, T Williams, J Evans, M Morgan. Glasgow Warriors: R Jackson; T Seymour, N Grigg, A Dunbar, L Jones; F Russell, H Pyrgos; J Bhatti, G Turner, Z Fagerson, T Swinson, S Cummings, M Fagerson, C Gibbins, A Ashe. Replacements: P MacArthur, A Allan, D Rae, B Alainu’uese, C Fusaro, G Horne, P Horne, N Matawalu. TV: S4C (KO 7.35pm) Match officials – Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU) Assistant Referee 1: George Clancy (IRFU) AR2: Mike English (WRU) TMO: Simon McDowell (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
