Preview: Ospreys v Viadana

Viadana have made seven changes to their side to face the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium in the Heineken Cup on Saturday.

Viadana have made seven changes to their side to face the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium in the Heineken Cup on Saturday.

After last week's 62-7 drubbing at the hands of the Welsh region, former Saracens scrum-half Mickey Wilson starts ahead of Andrea Brancoli.

Italian international Kaine Robertson is absent but his Azzurri team-mates, lock Quintin Geldenhuys, wing Matteo Pratichetti and loose forward Josh Sole are all in the starting line-up.

Meanwhile, Ospreys Director of Coaching Scott Johnson said there was still plenty of work to be done.

“Looking back at last weekend, we have to be reasonably happy with the way things went, particularly how the scoreboard looked at the final whistle, but if we consider our performance objectively we realise that there is plenty to work on ahead of Saturday,” he said.

“It was the result that we wanted, what is important now is that we don't let our hard work go to waste this weekend.

“We weren't particularly happy with the way the first 20 went out there, we found it difficult to take control of the game, so it is clear that if we don't start the game firing properly then they will be looking to take advantage.

“They showed last week what they are capable of if allowed to play, they worked hard to put us off our stride and certainly contested hard in certain areas of the game. Their try showed that if we give them any space whatsoever they will take advantage of it, so we now that we need to keep concentration levels high.

“The strength of our squad has been tested to its limit in this competition, so it's good to see the likes of Adam, Ian and Ryan among the replacements.

“These are experienced players and proven competitors at the highest level, so we know what they will be bringing to the table over the next couple of months. We are delighted to welcome them back into the squad and look forward to seeing them back in an Ospreys shirt again.”

The teams:

Ospreys:15 Gareth Owen, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Filo Tiatia, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jerry Collins (C), 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Cai Griffiths, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Ian Evans, 20 Ryan Jones, 21 Jamie Nutbrown, 22 James Hook, 23 Jonathan Spratt.

Viadana: 15 Garry Law, 14 Matteo Pratichetti, 13 Matthew Harvey, 12 Sam Cox, 11 Michele Sepe, 10 Lloyd Johansson, 9 Mickey Wilson, 8 Josh Sole, 7 Gareth Krause, 6 Aaron Persico, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Sean Hohneck, 3 Ignacio Elosu, 2 Roberto Santamaria, 1 Plinio Sciamanna.
Replacements:16 Luigi Ferraro, 17 Mattia Cagna, 18 Luigi Milani, 19 Gavin Quinnell, 20 Andrea Benatti, 21 Andrea Brancoli, 22 Pierre Hola, 23 Samuele Pace,

Date:Saturday, December 19
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kick-off:14.30 GMT
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Assistant referees: Eric Gauzins (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
Assessor: Steve Lander (England)