Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy admits his Welsh internationals will be gradually reintegrated into the team as they welcome Zebre in the GUINNESS PRO12 on Saturday.

Tandy keeps faith with the bulk of the side that saw off Munster last time out in the league meaning the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate and Rhys Webb return from Welsh duty but have to make do with a spot on the bench.

The Welsh region are currently fourth in the standings and fighting hard in a five-way battle for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

Ospreys held on for a 15-14 win against their Italian opponents earlier in the season and Tandy hopes his side can kick on as the race for the top four heats up.

"We are at the business end of the season now and with just five games to go there's no margin for error. It's incredibly tight at the top of the table and we know what we have to do as a group if we want to retain our play-off spot,” he said.

"It's great to be able to welcome our Wales boys back. As always, they have reported back for duty at Llandarcy with a great attitude and a real desire to pull on the black shirt again, to help us in our hunt for a play-off place.

“They've all slotted back in seamlessly and had a good training week, but they haven't had it easy, which is exactly how it should be.

“The boys in the core group who have been working tirelessly for the cause over the last two months have really stepped up, as we saw last time out against Munster.

“While that makes selection difficult on the one hand, it also allows us to think longer term as far as the reintegration of the internationals go. That will benefit everybody over the remaining weeks of the season.

"It's going to be tough on Saturday night. We only just scraped through out there in October, while last season we had two difficult games, winning one and losing one. We know what to expect, but we've prepared well this week and are looking forward to the game.”

Dan Evans starts at full-back with Tom Grabham and Hanno Dirksen on the wings while Josh Matavesi and Jonathan Spratt pair up in midfield.

Sam Davies continues at fly-half with Tom Habberfield his half-back partner while in the front row Aaron Jarvis and Scott Baldwin return alongside Ryan Bevington.

In the second row Lloyd Peers and Tyler Ardron pack down with James King, Justin Tipuric and Dan Baker in the back row and the Welsh internationals waiting on the bench for a late impact.

Zebre meanwhile welcome back seven Italian internationals from Six Nations duty – Guglielmo Palazzani at full-back, Luciano Orquera at fly-half, Samuela Vunisa at No.8, Marco Bortolami and Quintin Geldenhuys in the second row, while Andrea Manici and Michele Visentin are on the bench.

"We come into the final stretch of the season with pretty much a full roster of players, apart from a few long-term absentees like Giulio Bisegni, Tommaso d'Apice and Kelly Haimona. That makes the competition within the squad even higher," said Zebre head coach Victor Jimenez.

"We will approach the game in Wales [against the Ospreys] in the same way as we always do, with the group that has prepared for this challenge in recent weeks plus the a few of the players who were on national duty in place of the permit players we signed during the Six Nations window."

At Liberty Stadium, 7.15pm
Live on S4C and Nuvolari

Referee: George Clancy (IRFU, 68th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Jonathan Hardy (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner: Russel Howell (WRU)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (WRU)