Capital city encounter kicks-off Scarlets festive derbies

Wayne Pivac's men have not lost a game in the Guinness PRO12 at Parc y Scarlets this season but are yet to secure a victory on the road, a 20-20 draw against Edinburgh has been the only away result. Scarlets were defeated 8-14 at Connacht in round 9 and have not lost back-to-back Guinness PRO12 encounters since.

The team features four changes from the starting XV that featured against Ulster in the European Rugby Champions Cup last weekend. Liam Williams has been ruled out of the Guinness PRO12 clash with a sprained ankle with young fullback Steffan Evans making only his fourth start in the competition.

Harry Robinson makes a return on the wing against his former teammates whilst Aled Davies makes a return to the scrum half berth. Jake Ball has recovered from a virus that kept him out of last week's clash.

Scarlets Head Coach Wayne Pivac said: "Every new opposition is a new experience for me here and I'm enjoying it. On paper they're a very good side, don't think they've performed to the best of their ability. We need to stay focused and discipline is what we'll need. We'll have to be at the top of our game.

"It's a massive game. They still have ambitions in the competition; there's pressure to get results for all coaches and all teams.

"Our record away from home hasn't been good - in that context it's a big game for us. We need to focus on our game."

Scarlets team v Cardiff Blues at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, Friday 19th December kick-off 7.35pm;

15 Steffan Evans, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Scott Williams ©, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 1 Rob Evans, 2 Emyr Phillips, 3 Samson Lee, 4 Jake Ball, 5 Johan Snyman, 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 James Davies, 8 Rob McCusker

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Wyn Jones, Rhodri Jones, Lewis Rawlins, Will Boyde, Rhodri Williams, Steven Shingler, Hadleigh Parkes