Two Guinness PRO14 play-off contenders face off in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening at 7.35pm local time (5.35pm GMT) as the Toyota Cheetahs host the Scarlets.

Both sides are coming off victories last weekend, the Cheetahs at home to Edinburgh and the Scarlets in Port Elizabeth against the Southern Kings.

What’s at stake? The Cheetahs have lost just once at home this season, while the Scarlets have only dropped one game in all in the Guinness PRO14 so something has to give this weekend. With a run of away fixtures on the horizon for the Cheetahs, this game is crucial for the South African side, while the Scarlets will be finishing their southern tour with this game.

Team news (Toyota Cheetahs): Rory Duncan has made just one change to his starting lineup with Craig Barry coming onto the wing in place of Luther Obi. Elsewhere it is the same side that beat Edinburgh, with the sole change on the bench seeing Sibhale Maxwane included.

Team news (Edinburgh): The Scarlets will hand Mike Phillips, who made his comeback from retirement last weekend, a first start for the club at scrum-half. The only other change to the matchday 23 is the return of James Davies to the starting line-up in the back row. Emergency loan signing Herschel Jantjies will provide scrum-half cover after agreeing to a short-term deal this week.

Talking points: There are plenty of talking points from a Scarlets perspective with the return of Davies and Phillips getting a start. The veteran Wales and Lions scrum-half played his part in the comeback win over the Kings and gets the nod from the off this week. His back-up, Jantjies, is available on a one-week loan as Scarlets try to cope with their scrum-half crisis.

Key Battle: Rynier Bernardo v James Davies

The battle of the openside flankers should be a familiar one in some ways, with Rynier Bernardo coming up against his former club. The Cheetahs flanker spent last season at the Scarlets, and also had two years with the Ospreys so will know all about the threat of Davies. The 27-year-old is back fit again, and having been one of the spearheads of last season’s title challenge, Wayne Pivac will be thrilled to have him back.

Key Stat: The Cheetahs have been very strong at home but you have to go back to September for the last time they won successive games. Meanwhile the Scarlets have lost just one match in the Guinness PRO14 since March, a 27-20 loss at Ulster in September.

Did you know? The Toyota Cheetahs have both the highest points scorer (Ernst Stapelberg) and highest try-scorer (Makazole Mapimpi) in the Guinness PRO14. However, they will again be without Stapelberg this weekend with Fred Zeilinga starting at fly-half.

Toyota Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies; Craig Barry, William Small-Smith, Nico Lee, Makazole Mapimpi; Fred Zeilinga, Shaun Venter; Charles Marais, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Johan Coetzee; Carl Wegner, Hugo Reniel; Paul Schoeman, Rynier Bernardo, Junior Pokomela

Replacements: Jacques du Toit, Ox Nche, Tom Botha, Jasper Wiese, Daniel Maartens, Tian Meyer, Tertius Kruger, Sibhale Maxwane

Scarlets: Johnny McNicholl, Tom Prydie, Steff Hughes, Paul Asquith, Ioan Nicholas, Dan Jones, Mike Phillips, Dylan Evans, Ryan Elias, Werner Kruger, Lewis Rawlins, David Bulbring, Tadhg Beirne, James Davies, Will Boyde

Replacements: Taylor Davies, Rhys Fawcett, Simon Gardiner, Steven Cummins, Josh Macleod, Herschel Jantjies, Ioan Hughes, Morgan Williams

TV: SuperSport 1: 7.20pm (SA), S4C: 5.15pm (UK)

Match officials – Referee: Quinton Immelman (SARU), AR1: Stephen Geldenhuys (SARU). AR2: Jaco Kotze (SARU), TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU).

Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and can be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie