Preview: Newport Gwent Dragons v Glasgow Warriors: Lineen upbeat as Glasgow welcome back Jackson and Beattie to side

Fly-half Jackson is to make his first appearance of the campaign after suffering a hamstring injury in the World Cup defeat to England at the beginning of October.

Beattie, who was not selected for the tournament, will start at No 8, making his 100th Celtic League appearance.

Rob Dewey returns at outside centre and as captain, Peter Murchie and Colin Shaw come into the back three, Dougie Hall and Ed Kalman come into the front row, Rob Verbakel has been named in the second row and Beattie is joined in the back row by Chris Fusaro and Calum Forrester.

Forrester is set to make his first appearance since suffering a knee injury in March, while 19-year-old scrum-half Murray McConnell could make his debut from the bench.

Glasgow last won in Newport in September 2008, while the Dragons are yet to be beaten at Rodney Parade in the RaboDirect PRO12 this term.

Head coach Sean Lineen said: “The players have shown tremendous spirit and fighting qualities in recent weeks to dig out a number of important wins.

“Their courage and commitment is there for all to see, and it’s those sorts of qualities that will be required in spades against the Dragons.

“We’ve shown that we’ve got what it takes to win on the road in this competition, and the challenge now for the team is to keep that momentum going by putting in another sharp, intense display come Sunday.”

He added: “It’s great for Johnnie Beattie to be hitting the 100 appearance landmark, and I’m looking forward to seeing him put in the sort of quality No 8 display that we’ve witnessed many times in the years he’s been with us.

“It’s also fantastic to have Calum and Ruaridh back after their rehabilitation. We’ve got some excellent competition for places in the back row, to which Calum will add another dimension, and the battle at stand-off is going to be no less fierce in the coming weeks at months.

“In terms of the changes we’ve made, between the RaboDirect PRO12 and Heineken Cup, we’ve got one huge game after the other for the foreseeable future.

“We need to best utilise every member of our squad, keeping everyone as fresh and hungry as possible while rewarding those who consistently perform well.”

Before kick-off tomorrow there will be a minute’s silence held in memory of Gary Speed, the Wales football manager who was found dead last weekend.