Dragons v Connacht Rodney Parade, 7.10 On TV: Setanta
Forewarned is forearmed, which in the Dragons' case means Connacht are not the impoverished whipping boys the Celtic League table might suggest writes John O'Sullivan

Victory over high-flying Ulster in their last outing demonstrates Connacht are a capable side on their day. The problem for coach Michael Bradley is they have not had enough "days" this season.

During the bad times they tend to get bogged down in their patterns, become one-dimensional or kicking the ball poorly. When more upbeat there is a patience and fluency to their structure.

Bradley will be hoping the Ulster win will see them kick on. He's freshened the pack with Dan McFarland, Joe Merrigan and Adrian Clarke forming an all-new frontrow and Michael Swift introduced at blindside flanker. John Heary moves to the wing with Andrew Mailei coming into the centre.

Prop Ray Hogan has not recovered from a foot injury, while captain Andrew Farley is doubtful. The Australian faces a late fitness test and if he is ruled out then former Ireland under-21 captain David Gannon will deputise in the secondrow. Andrew Gallagher will be on the bench if Farley is ruled out.

The Dragons have made two changes to the team that beat the Ospreys 24-14 on New Year's Day. Leading points scorer Craig Warlow comes in for Ceri Sweeney at outhalf and Jamie Ringer returns to the bench.

The Welsh side ended a four-game losing streak in all competitions by beating the Ospreys and will hope to end a record of having lost on all (four) occasions they have played Irish opposition this season. A more palatable statistic for the home side is that they have beaten Connacht three of the four times they have met.

Welsh international wing-cum-centre Hal Luscombe pointed out: "We are in no way underestimating Connacht. People are expecting us to beat them but they are no pushover, as they proved last weekend when they beat Ulster. They will be ruing the defeat at the hands of the Ospreys earlier in the season and like ourselves are fighting for a Heineken Cup place, which again like us they desperately want.

"Our form has been somewhat inconsistent this season and we want to prove we are a side to be reckoned with and better than certain results have shown. There is no better time for us to show that than on Friday night. The win over the Ospreys has injected some real confidence back into the squad."

Coach Paul Turner said: "Connacht are a good side who all play for each other and will be looking to come down here and win . . . they are a side who we cannot underestimate."

The Dragons' two performances against Munster in the European Cup this season sum up their Jeckyll and Hyde nature. In the first game, at Rodney Parade, they were awful; a week later at Thomond Park they caused all sorts of problems for the Irish province.

Connacht will be delighted to see Mark McHugh fit again following a horrendous run with injury. He starts on the bench alongside their Australian game-breaker Paul Warwick. The western province as a team also harbours multiple personalities and can, like the Dragons, be notoriously difficult to read.

Both teams received a fillip at the weekend but it's likely to be the Dragons - Connacht have never won at Rodney Parade - who continue the momentum.

DRAGONS: S Tuipulotu; G Chapman, H Luscombe, J Bryant, B Breeze; C Warlow, G Cooper; A Black, S Jones, R Thomas; I Gough, P Sidoli; A Hall, J Forster (capt), M Owen. Replacements: A Brown, S Jones, G Robinson, B Griffiths, J Ringer, C Sweeney, G Baber.

CONNACHT: M Mostyn; J Hearty, A Mailei, K Matthews, C McPhillips; D Slemen, C Keane; D McFarland, J Merrigan, A Clarke; C Short, D Gannon/A Farley (capt); M Swift, M Lacey, C Rigney. Replacements: J Fogarty, S Knoop, D Gannon/A Gallagher, B O'Connor, M McHugh, T Tierney, P Warwick.

Referee: I Heard (Scotland).

Head to Head: November 2003 (CL) at Rodney Parade: Dragons 28 Connacht 19; May 2004 (CL) at Sportsground: Connacht 14 Dragons 32; November 2004 (CL) at Sportsground: Connacht 19 Dragons 14; April 2005 (CL) at Rodney Parade: Dragons 24 Connacht 19.

Leading points scorers: Dragons - Craig Warlow 54. Connacht - Paul Warwick 61.

Leading try scorers: Dragons - Jason Forster 3. Connacht - Conor McPhillips 4.

Verdict: Dragons to win.