Preview: Aironi v Scarlets

Scarlets have been boosted by the return of captain David Lyons ahead of their Magners League Round Nine clash against Aironi on Saturday.

Scarlets have been boosted by the return of captain David Lyons ahead of their Magners League Round Nine clash against Aironi on Saturday.
Lyons returns to the back of the scrum and reassumes his position as skipper of the side having recovered from a shoulder injury that has seen him sidelined for a number of weeks. The Australian's return sees Ben Morgan switching to flank.
Nigel Davies' side also welcome back influential scrum-half Tavis Knoyle who has been released from international duty with Wales. In the only other chance to the team that faced Munster, Nick Reynolds replaces the injured Lee Williams on the wing.
Already struggling to compete in the Magners League, Aironi are without six players who have been called up to the Italian national side to face Fiji this weekend.
The absentees allow for a number of players to prove their worth, with full-back Julien Laharrague, wings Giulio Toniolatti and Rodd Penney, and centre pairing Gabriel Pizarro and Matteo Pratichetti all getting a run.
Michael Wilson returns at scrum-half having missed the Ospreys game due to injury, with the half-back pairing completed by debutant James Marshall.
Form: The two teams have only clashed one occasion previously, with the men from Wales coming out on top 49-10 which stands as Aironi's heaviest defeat thus far in the competition. The men from Italy are yet to claim a victory in the Magners League, and enter Saturday's cash on the back of comprehensive losses to the Warriors, Blues and Dragons. Having suffered only their third loss of the season last time out against Munster, Scarlets are hoping to turn things around and cement their second spot on the table.
The teams:
Aironi: 15 Julien Laharrague; 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Matteo Pratichetti, 12 Gabriel Pizarro, 11 Rodd Penney; 10 James Marshall, 9 Michael Wilson; 1 Matias Aguero, 2 Roberto Santamaria, 3 Fabio Staibano; 4 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami; 6 Josh Sole, 7 Simone Favaro, 8 Nick Williams.
Replacements: 16 Luigi Ferraro, 17 Luigi Milani, 18 Luca Redolfini, 19 George Fabio Biagi, 20 Gareth Krause, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Paolo Buso, 23 Giulio Rubini.
Scarlets: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Regan King, 11 Nick Reynolds, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 David Lyons (capt), 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Ben Morgan, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Phil John, 18 Simon Gardner, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Jonny Fa'amatuainu, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Dan Newton, 23 Scott Williams.

Date: Saturday, November 27
Kick-off: 19:05 (18:05 GMT)
Venue: Stadio Zaffanella
Referee: Andy Macpherson
Assistant Referees: Marius Mitrea, Matteo Liperini
Television match official: Stefano Mancini