Wales Sevens international Ethan Davies kicked a last minute penalty to secure a 24-22 victory at Pandy Park on 17 October after Keys had hit back from a 6-0 interval deficit. Davies will be missing for the return fixture as he is in Las Vegas with the Welsh team.
But Keys have found a more than useful replacement for him at No 10 this weekend with Dragons star Geraint Rhys Jones set to stand-in. Also missing from the Keys line-up are Wales Under 20 prop Leon Brown and injured skipper Leon Andrews.
Ponty have lost four of their 16 games to date in the Premiership, but came from behind at Aberavon last weekend to take over at the top from Newport. Keys have two games in hand and are currently nine points behind in sixth place.
Ceri Sweeney, Ponty’s matchwinner at the Talbot Athletic Ground, retains his place at outside half, but the league leaders will be without prop Chris Phillips (knee), flanker Wayne O’Connor (rib) and No8 Dan Godfrey (hamstring) who all picked up injuries against the Wizards.
Both Cross Keys and Pontypridd are safely through to the quarter-finals of the SSE Swalec Cup and another of the last eight, Llandovery, host Aberavon in a battle between fifth and third. But while there may be two places between the two teams, Aberavon only hold a single point advantage.
Ebbw Vale also made it through to the cup quarter-finals, but this weekend will turn their attention to pushing for a second successive Premiership play-off place as they host Llanelli. The Steelmen have won seven of their eight home games in the Premiership at Eugene Cross Park and will no doubt want to make up for their 22-18 defeat against Llanelli at Parc y Scarlets earlier in the campaign.
There will be a mid-table battle between Cardiff and Bedwas at the BT Sport Arms Park. There are eight points between the two teams with Bedwas arriving in eighth place, one above their hosts.
The bottom two teams clash at the Bridgend Ford Brewery Field, where Bridgend can at least boast four more wins than Neath and a 13 point cushion from last place.
Neath received a boost when they beat Cardiff Met to reach the quarter-finals of the cup with six tries last weekend. But it was Bridgend who came away with the points when the two sides met at The Gnoll, 34-20.
Principality Premiership Fixtures, 5 March
Bridgend v Neath
Cardiff v Bedwas
Ebbw Vale v Llanelli
Llandovery v Aberavon
Pontypridd v Cross Keys
