Scrum-half Natham Jones (ankle), fly-half and Tommy Hayes (calf) and flanker Jamie Miller (hip) also return from injury to boost Cov's squad and are named on the bench.

One further change from the side that started at Sedgley Park last Saturday, where Cov snatched a 30-27 win with a Tom Slater try deep in injury time, sees Rob Walton at lock in an exchange with Carl Burgess, who goes to the bench.

Bedford, who did the double over Cov last season, are one of the division's form teams, winning their first four games before last week's 26-23 injury-time defeat by Exeter, and rugby director Phil Maynard acknowledges that his side will need to be on the top of their form.

"It's a big day for us, there's a lot of history between the two clubs and they're on fire at the moment,"said Maynard.

"They play a particularly quick, muti-phase game and will give anyone in this league a tough game.

"It will be a severe test for us, but we have got a good record here on our own ground and we want to try to keep it going.

"If the lads apply themselves as we have seen in patches this season, we can beat them, but we have got to go on the front froot and take the game to them. We need to play with confidence but also get the balance of our game right."

Maynard admits that he was relieved more than anything else with last weekend's win and is pleased to see the number of fit players in the squad on the rise.

"We didn't play particularly well, but to get any win like that away from home is still good," he said.

"We've had increased numbers in training this week we are moving towards where we want to be and we will be a bit more competitive there next week, especially in the forwards.

"I'm very pleased to see Donovan back and he's been on fire at training all week, he's so eager to get back playing."

Prop Rudi Brits is recovering from a shoulder operation and should return to playing in November.

"It all went well, in the end he didn't need any corrective surgery and they just cleared it out. He will have four weeks rehab and be back."

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