Warriors club captain GJ van Velze is set to make his 100th appearance against Wasps in Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership match at Sixways (kick-off 3.00pm).
Number eight Van Velze joined Warriors from Northampton Saints in the summer of 2014 and helped the club win the Greene King IPA Championship and an immediate return to the top flight in his first season.
Van Velze missed almost all of the 2016/17 season because of a serious concussion injury but he made a successful return to action and is expected to come off the bench to make his 100th appearance against Wasps.
Van Velze will become only the 25th Warriors player to reach the 100 appearance landmark but the third in as many months following centre Ryan Mills and loosehead prop Ryan Bower who joined Warriors at the same time.
Cornell du Preez, who trained with Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations squad earlier in the week, will start at number eight with Marco Mama switching from openside to blindside flanker to replace Ted Hill who is on England’s Six Nations training camp in Portugal.
Sam Lewis returns at openside having recovered from a facial injury sustained at Saracens three weeks ago and fit-again Tom Howe comes in to the starting XV.
Centre Ollie Lawrence, who impressed in the European Challenge Cup matches against Enisei-STM and Castres, will make his first-ever Premiership start alongside Ashley Beck.
Former Scotland Under-20s back-row forward Tom Dodd, who signed his first senior contract earlier this week, is in line to make his Premiership debut off the bench.
Warriors
15 Jamie Shillcock
14 Perry Humphreys
13 Ollie Lawrence
12 Ashley Beck
11 Tom Howe
10 Duncan Weir
9 Michael Heaney
1 Ethan Waller
2 Matt Moulds (C)
3 Nick Schonert
4 Anton Bresler
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Marco Mama
7 Sam Lewis
8 Cornell du Preez
Replacements
16 Joe Taufete’e
17 Ryan Bower
18 Richard Palframan
19 GJ van Velze
20 Tom Dodd
21 Jono Kitto
22 Jono Lance
23 Francois Venter
Not considered because of injury: Niall Annett, Callum Black Justin Clegg, Conor Carey, Michael Fatialofa, Ed Fidow, Dean Hammond, Alex Hearle, Francois Hougaard, Andrew Kitchener, Ryan Mills, Joe Morris, Oli Morris, Farai Mudariki, Melani Nanai.
Wasps | 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Dan Robson, 1 Simon McIntyre, 2 Tommy Taylor, 3 Kieran Brookes, 4 Will Rowlands, 5 James Gaskell, 6 Jack Willis, 7 Thomas Young, 8 Nizaam Carr.
Replacements | 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Thibaud Flament, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Michael Le Bourgeois, 23 Rob Miller.