In the back division, Jeremy Staunton starts at fly half and replaces Andy Dunne, who broke a bone in his foot against Munster. In the pack, Roy Winters and Simon Maling take over from Karl Rudzki and Simon Miall respectively in the second row.

England international Mike Worsley has recovered from a back injury and is amongst the replacements, whilst in the continued absence of Andre Vos, Tony Diprose will once again captain the side.

Vos (ankle injury), along with Tani Fuga (knee) and George Harder (dislocated finger) are all expected to be fit for Quins Premiership game against Gloucester at the Stoop next weekend (Saturday 5th February).

"Saturday is the first of nine very important games for us," said Mark Evans, NEC Harlequins Chief Executive. "For the six teams in the lower half of the table, the remainder of the season will be incredibly tense. We are confident that we can get ourselves out of the trouble we are in, but it will take a lot of hard work and self belief."

"Indeed, Welford Road is one of the most difficult places in Europe to go and get a result from. However, we have played well on our travels this season, particularly at Gloucester, Munster and London Wasps. We battled well against Munster last time out and we must play with that same intensity and commitment this weekend if we are to have a chance of coming away with the result we desire."

The full team is as follows:

15. Gavin Duffy
14. Simon Keogh
13. Dafydd James
12. Mel Deane
11. Ugo Monye
10. Jeremy Staunton
9. Steve So'oialo
1. Ceri Jones
2. Ace Tiatia
3. Jon Dawson
4. Roy Winters
5. Simon Maling
6. Nick Easter
7. Luke Sherriff
8. Tony Diprose (Capt.)

Replacements:
16. James Hayter
17. Mike Worsley
18. Simon Miall
19. Kai Horstmann
20. Andy Reay
21. Henry Barratt
22. Tom Williams