Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor has warned his side to be on their guard when they visit the Ospreys in the RaboDirect PRO12 on Friday night.

Ospreys saw their play-off ambitions dented by an 11-9 defeat away to Glasgow Warriors in the last round and with time running out they cannot afford further slip-ups.

O’Connor is all too aware of what’s at stake for the Welsh side and while Leinster may be sitting comfortably in the play-off places – leading the way at the top of the league by five points – he is taking nothing for granted.

“We’ve played (Ospreys) enough to know enough about them. It’s a huge game for them because if they lose they’re probably out of it mathematically,” said O’Connor.

“From that perspective they’ll be doing everything they can to get the result and keep them in it.

“We’ve got to bounce back and we’ve got to make sure we fix the things that went wrong on Sunday.

“They’re very hard to beat – they’re hard to break down at home. They race off the line. They’ve got a good set piece. They’ve got a lot of Lions and Welsh internationals.

“We’re under no illusions of how good they are at home. We’re just going to make sure that we’re better.”

Leinster are without Fergus McFadden who has a knee injury with Zane Kirchner taking his place and Noel Reid starting at 12 while Gordon D'Arcy moves and Isaac Boss is in at scrum-half.

There are four changes to the pack with Sean Cronin, Martin Moore, Leo Cullen and Kevin McLaughlin coming in from the start.

For the Ospreys, Richard Fussell makes his 100th appearance and will be presented with a commemorative jersey pitch side by chairman Roger Blyth before kick-off

Leinster have won their last eight RaboDirect PRO12 matches since their 6-11 reversal to Edinburgh at Murrayfield on December 20.

The Leinstermen are unbeaten in their last 14 fixtures with Welsh regions in all tournaments.

The two sides have met on three occasions this season with Leinster winning home and away in the European Cup, but sharing a 29-all draw at the RDS in round 2 of the RaboDirect PRO12.

Ospreys’ only victory in their last four RaboDirect PRO12 fixtures was a 34-9 win over Cardiff Blues at Liberty Stadium in round 17.

Ospreys have won just one of their last 11 contests with Irish provinces in all tournaments: 43-26 over Connacht in Galway on September 28.

Ospreys have won their last three games against Leinster at the Liberty Stadium in the RaboDirect PRO12 and head coach Steve Tandy knows nothing less will do.

“It’s do or die for us over the next four games now. We have to put in consistent top level performances between now and the end of the season if we are going to secure a play-off spot,” he said.

“We were extremely disappointed with the result in Glasgow, which has left us playing catch-up, but the attitude from the entire squad has been first class since then and the boys are really looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

“It’s crucial that we get the performance right on Friday night. Do that, and the rest will fall into place. We know that Glasgow are now favourites for the fourth spot, but we won’t be giving up.

"We’ve got to keep on going, maintaining pressure on the teams above us in case they slip up. The top four have all got to play each other between now and the end of the season so we have to make sure that if results go our way, we can take advantage.”

At Liberty Stadium, 7.05pm. Live on BBC WALES/RTE
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 26th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Jon Mason (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner: John Charles (WRU)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (WRU)