Nicky Robinson starts at outside half with Nick Macleod moving to fullback and Ben Blair moving to the wing. Tom James has not recovered from his hip injury sustained against Munster last weekend.
In the forwards, Gethin Jenkins and Gary Powell come in and will start in the front row. Taufa’ao Filise moves to the bench and is joined by Rhys Shellard, Ed Fairhurst, Dai Flanagan and Dafydd Hewitt as Marc Stcherbina has still not recovered from his calf injury.
Mark Lewis also suffered grade 2 medial ligament damage to his left knee in the match against Munster, which is expected to keep him out of action for between 4 and 6 weeks. Yet Young is optimistic that his side can start a busy fixture programme with a win.
“If we can get some victories it would put us in a strong position; if we don’t it will put our backs against the wall a little bit,” he told BBC Wales. “But we are confident: we know we’ve got a lot of injuries but that can’t be used as an excuse – we can go out there and achieve the points we require.”
Ospreys Head Coach Lyn Jones knows that this pre-Christmas trip to Cardiff will not yield many gifts from the boys in Blue. “The Blues at the Arms Park pose one of the biggest challenges any side will face,” he said.
“They are a much improved side, although they have not been on top of their game over recent weeks. With players such as Nicky Robinson and Ben Blair in their ranks they will always pose a threat, and our discipline will be key with a kicker such as Blair in the opposition.”
“Our form at the Arms Park has varied over recent seasons. We got a victory two seasons ago but we took a hiding last year and we will be looking to make amends for that this weekend.
“We are facing a busy period over the next week or two, but with each of the games being full-blooded and passionate local derbies in front of packed stadiums, all of the squad will be keen to get involved.”
Cardiff Blues: 15. Nick Macleod, 14. Ben Blair, 13. Jamie Robinson, 12. Tom Shanklin, 11. Chris Czekaj, 10. Nick Robinson, 9. Mike Phillips, 8. Xavier Rush (Capt), 7. Martyn Williams, 6. Scott Morgan, 5. Deiniol Jones, 4. Bradley Davies, 3. Gary Powell, 2. T Rhys Thomas, 1. Gethin JenkinsReplacements: 16 Taufaao Filise 17 Gareth Williams 18 Ben White 19 Rhys Shellard 20 Ed Fairhurst 21 Dai Flannagan 22 Dafydd Hewitt
Ospreys: 15. Stefan Terblanche, 14. Nikki Walker, 13. Sonny Parker, 12. Andrew Bishop, 11. Shane Williams, 10. Gavin Henson, 9. Justin Marshall, 8. Filo Tiatia, 7. Richard Pugh, 6. Alun Wyn Jones, 5. Ian Evans, 4. Brent Cockbain, 3. Adam Jones, 2. Barry Williams, 1. Duncan Jones (Capt)
Replacements: 16. Ed Shervington, 17. Cai Griffiths, 18. Andy Lloyd, 19. Ryan Jones, 20. Jason Spice, 21. James Hook, 22. Lee Byrne
