Edinburgh are under pressure to get a result
Ulster will visit Edinburgh at Hampden Park in their Magners League match this Friday 22 October.
The Irish province will take on the Scottish side after their 35-15 defeat at the hands of Biarritz in the Heineken Cup.
Ulster started the game well, but were swept away by the French side in the second half. However, the province did win convincingly against Italian side Aironi.
The Irish side have also impressed in the Magners League and are only one point behind league leader’s Munster. Ulster have yet to lose in the league this season and they will be hoping that they can secure a win against Edinburgh in this weekend’s match.
Backs Darren Cave, Jamie Smith and Simon Danielli are all out with injuries and Adam D’Arcy, Mark McCrea and David McIlwaine will take their places.
Paddy Wallace moves into the out-half position, while Andrew Trimble moves from the wing into the centre.
Ulster Coach Brian McLaughlin has picked Stephen Ferris and Rory Best, despite the upcoming autumn internationals.
The Irish province should dominate the line out with Johann Muller, Robbie Diack, Dan Tuohy and Ferris providing options for hooker Best.
South Africa’s Ruan Pienaar is likely to be an influential player and he has been in excellent form since making his debut for Ulster in the Magners League.
Ulster will fancy their chances of turning over the Scottish side, despite being away. Yet, Edinburgh at home are a difficult prospect and they will be hurting after two defeats in a row.
The Scottish side have also got a number of key injuries. Phil Godman is out with a long term injury, while there are doubts over the fitness of Greg Laidlaw.
Edinburgh have had an indifferent start to their season. They opened their Magners League campaign with a number of poor results.
However, Edinburgh coach Rob Moffat seems to have stabilised their Magners League season with a couple of wins prior to the Heineken Cup, including a Magners League victory over Leinster.
Since then, the Scottish side have slumped to two defeats in the Heineken Cup.
Last weekend’s narrow defeat at the hands of Aviva Premiership side Northampton was a cruel blow and the side will hope to bounce back against Ulster.
Edinburgh have been very competitive at home, despite last week’s narrow loss. Out-half David Blair will have a point to prove and he will be hoping for a big performance.
The Scottish side will look to the forwards to dominate in the front five and on paper the two teams look evenly matched, but Edinburgh may edge the scrum.
This should be a close encounter, but the Scots are under far more pressure after their poor start to the Heineken Cup effectively knocked them out of the competition.
Rob Moffat will want a reaction from his team and this may come at the expense of Ulster. A close game will be expected, but a riled up Edinburgh team should do enough to secure a home win.
Prediction Edinburgh 27 Ulster 19
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