The Ospreys host the Lions in the URC in Bridgend on Friday and in terms of log position both sides reside either side of the play off cut.
Ospreys v Lions, Friday 23rd January, Bridgend, KO 21:45 (South African time)
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (WRU), Lucas Yendle (WRU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)
Weather Forecast – Bridgend
Ospreys:
The Ospreys are in ninth spot with a record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats and they have 18 log points, 1 shy of 8th placed Benetton and a play off spot.
The Ospreys were in South Africa at the start of the tournament where they lost to the Bulls (53-40) and the Stormers (26-10). Their wins came at home to Zebre (24-0) in Round 3 and then in their 2 most recent outings, at the Scarlets (26-19) in Round 8 and at home to Cardiff (33-22) in Round 9.
In the recently completed Challenge Cup pool stage the Ospreys won their first 2 matches and then lost the next 2 to finish fourth and they will visit Ulster in the Round of 16.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Ospreys are 250/1 with Hollywoodbets
Lions:
The Lions have moved up to seventh with a record of 4 wins and 4 defeats and they still have a game in hand over a number of other play off contenders from Europe.
At the start of the season the Lions lost tour matches at Cardiff, Zebre and Benetton but they have since worked their way back into the mix. In Rounds 4 and 5 they won home fixtures against the Scarlets (29-18) and Ulster (49-31) before they turned the Bulls over (43-33) at Loftus. Two further subsequent SA derby matches saw the Lions go down to the Stormers (34-27) in Cape Town before they edged out the Sharks (23-22) in Durban.
The Lions failed to make the knockout rounds of the Challenge Cup after finishing fifth in their pool. They lost their first 2 matches and after a home win over Lyon they drew 20-20 away to USAP in their final match and were eliminated.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Lions are 80/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Steffan Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Cam Jones, 18 Kian Hire, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Morgan Morse, 22 Reuben Morgan Williams, 23 Phil Cokanasiga
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Richard Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Jarod Cairns, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Erich Cronje
The Betting,
Average early show
Ospreys -3.5 points at 9/10
Lions +3.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
This Weeks Bets
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