Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley has called on his side to get the wind in their sails and capitalise on a first win of the season when they host RaboDirect PRO12 newcomers Zebre on Friday.

Edinburgh got their first win of the season last weekend thanks to Greig Laidlaw’s nerveless drop goal which handed them a 21-19 victory over Cardiff Blues and Bradley is targeting the same result against Zebre.

The Italian side are yet to claim at win in the RaboDirect PRO12 since entering the league at the start of the season and currently sit bottom of the table without any points.

History is not on Zebre’s side with Edinburgh yet to lose a home match against Italian opposition and Bradley’s men will be desperate to get back to winning ways at Murrayfield, having lost last time out to Munster.

But Bradley has warned against complacency as his side welcome Zebre, claiming the Italians showed what they are made of in last weekend’s defeat to Connacht.

“Zebre's last game against Connacht was in doubt right up until the last play, so I think they'll be coming here with high hopes,” said Bradley.

“They play a 15-man game, have a strong set-piece and are not afraid to run the ball around the park, so it should make for an exciting game.

“I think the scrum could again be a key feature. They competed well in that area against Connacht and will no doubt look to target our scrum.

"Our pack have done an awful lot of work in that area in pre-season, and the two performances in the two competitive matches so far this season have shown the benefits.

"These performances mean we can go into this match with confidence, as we seek to maintain winning momentum."

Bradley makes five changes to the side that pinched the points in Cardiff last time out, with Matt Scott coming in at inside centre in place of John Houston the only change in the backline.

John Yapp comes in at loosehead while WP Nel is drafted in at tighthead and in the back row Ross Rennie and Netani Talei join Stuart McInally, who switches from No.8 to flanker.

Zebre director of rugby Roberto Manghi rings the changes as he bids to lead his side to a first RaboDirect PRO12 win with eight new faces coming in.

In the backs, Matteo Pratichetti and Daniel Halangahu form a new centre partnership while Alberto Chiesa and Tito Tebaldi come in at fly-half and scrum-half respectively.

In the forwards, Andrea De Marchi and Luciano Leibson take their places either side of hooker Carlo Festuccia in the front row while Emiliano Caffini replaces Filippo Cristiano at flanker.

Despite impressing as a replacement last time out against Connacht, Nicola Belardo must again make do with a place on the bench – but he’s desperate to make an impact at Murrayfield.

Belardo said: “It was a great experience for me against Connacht and I achieved my objective of playing in the PRO12.

“Even though I only played the last ten minutes I've now got my debut under my belt.

“At the moment there is a mixture of experience and younger players in the squad but everyone has to do all they can

“We can be pleased with our performance against Connacht but we know we can improve and we are starting to see what real rugby is.”

At Murrayfield, 7.30pm.
Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini (FIR, 2nd competition game)
Assistant Referees: Andrew McMenemy, Adrian Graves (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Paul Minto (SRU)