Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend has rung the changes for the 1872 Cup clash against Edinburgh but he still expects an improved performance. The Warriors won the first leg 16-6 at Scotstoun last Saturday against their Scottish rivals and currently lie second in the GUINNESS PRO12 table. And after welcoming back a number of players who were rested last week, including Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Gordon Reid, Jonny Gray and Fraser Brown, Townsend is keen to kick on. "It's great that we're able welcome back some players who were rested last weekend and this allows us to freshen up the squad,” he said. "A number of players have earned the opportunity to play in this fixture and we'll need to play better if we're to come away with a positive result. "We've enjoyed playing at BT Murrayfield over the last few seasons and the pitch looks in great condition, so we're all really looking forward to this game. "We're expecting another tough match but it will be great to play an away game with so many of our supporters at the ground." Peter Murchie replaces Stuart Hogg at full-back, with Hogg named among the replacements, while Sean Maitland comes in for Sean Lamont on the right wing and Seymour replaces DTH van der Merwe on the opposite side. Alex Dunbar and Peter Horne continue their centre partnership, while Russell comes in for Duncan Weir at stand-off and Fijian scrum-half Niko Matawalu replaces Henry Pyrgos, who is rested after being involved in the last five games. It's an all-new front-row with Gordon Reid and Jon Welsh coming in for Ryan Grant and Euan Murray at loose-head and tight-head respectively. Jonny Gray replaces the rested Tim Swinson in the second-row, while Al Kellock continues to captain the side from the engine room, after his man of the match performance last weekend. The only change in the back-row sees Tyrone Holmes come in for the injured Rob Harley at open-side, with Ryan Wilson continuing on the blind-side and Josh Strauss once again at No.8. By contrast Edinburgh make just two changes to the starting XV. While the forward pack remains unchanged, Tim Visser returns on the left wing in place of Tom Brown and Phil Burleigh replaces Andries Strauss to partner Matt Scott in the centres. Their three-game winning run in all tournaments ended in the first leg of the 1872 Cup but Edinburgh have won their last five encounters at BT Murrayfield in all tournaments since drawing there 20-20 with Scarlets in the GUINNESS PRO12 in September. And head coach Alan Solomons admits he can’t wait for kick-off. "We are all looking forward to playing at home,” he said. “The support of our fans will act as a spur in the task that lies ahead of us." At BT Murrayfield, 7.35pm. Live on BBC2 Scotland Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 117th competition game) Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White, Peter Allan (both SRU) Citing Commissioner: Iain Goodall (SRU) TMO: Jim Yuille (SRU)
