Neither side covered themselves in glory during the European break but Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley insists that counts for nothing when RaboDirect PRO12 hostilities resume against Scarlets on Friday.

Bradley’s troops failed to score a point as they fell to heavy defeats against first Saracens and then Munster while Scarlets were put to the sword by Clermont before claiming a losing bonus point against Leinster.

But both sides will be hoping to put that right at Murrayfield, particularly Bradley’s Gunners who currently sit ninth in the table, having lost five on the spin in all competitions.

"Our intention is simply to get back on the winning trail, and get back on it as soon as possible,” he said.

"The PRO12 is really tight just now. All but the top and bottom teams are on two, three or four wins, so success can shoot you up the table very quickly. But we need to strike now.

"We know we have a lot of talent in our side and we know we're a good rugby team, but we haven't been able show it, so the key this week has been to focus on ourselves, and what we can control."

Ben Atiga (hamstring), Dimitri Basilaia (knee), Netani Talei (knee), Geoff Cross (head knock) and Gregor Hunter (head knock) were all injured in the Munster clash, while captain Greig Laidlaw has yet to recover from the shoulder injury he picked up against Saracens.

The club's losses are tempered by the return of top try-scorer Tim Visser in a back line orchestrated by incoming half-backs Harry Leonard and Chris Leck, who replace the injured Hunter and scrum-half Richie Rees, who starts on the bench.

Matt Scott comes in for what would normally be a straight swap for Atiga, however Bradley has brought the experience of Nick De Luca closer to the coalface at inside-centre, with midfield partner Scott starting at 13.

In the forwards, Willem Nel replaces the injured Cross at tight-head prop, Andy Titterrell will start at hooker, with Ross Ford available from the bench, and open-side flanker Ross Rennie comes in alongside David Denton and Stuart McInally.

Meanwhile, Simon Easterby has also rung the changes for Scarlets as Aled Thomas comes in at fly-half with Rhys Priestland dropping to the bench.

Centres Jonathan Davies and Gareth Maule are both unavailable, so Nick Reynolds comes into the centre alongside Wales international Scott Williams. Argentinean international Tomás Vallejos gets his first start in a Scarlets jersey.

While Edinburgh have struggled domestically this season Scarlets currently sit second in the RaboDirect PRO12 table and Easterby has reminded his side that the season is still but young.

“This is an important game for us and with a limited turnaround this week,” he said.

“Our focus has been on our game and getting some of the execution and decision-making issues we faced last weekend put right. We will be better at the things in our control and put pressure on Edinburgh.

"We just can't let the last two results affect the strong start we've made in the league and for us the negatives from those two fixtures are a motivating factor for us to kick-on now.

"It's certainly not doom and gloom, we have plenty of positives to focus on – our execution could have been better last weekend but that's also partly about playing one of the best sides in the Europe for the last three years.”

At Murrayfield , 7.35pm.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 12th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Peter Allan, Bob Nairns (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Rob Flockhart (SRU)
TMO: Iain Ramage

Live on BBC ALBA.