AFTER upsetting the odds in the north last weekend, Ebbw Vale aim to avoid a shock defeat in the Principality Premiership this afternoon when they host Bridgend.

The Steelmen have enjoyed a near-perfect start to the campaign with three wins from three, the first of them with a bonus at Llanelli.

They edged a thriller with Aberavon and last week's victory was the pick of the bunch – a 19-12 win against RGC 1404 in Colwyn Bay.

They attempt to back up that display by avoiding a Bridgend banana skin at Eugene Cross Park against a Ravens side fresh from hard-fought wins against Neath and Swansea.

Vale head coach Greg Woods sticks with the backs that took to the field at Parc Eirias but makes three changes up front, bringing in loosehead Joel Harries, hooker Joel Franchi and lock Lance Randall.

Cross Keys have enjoyed a strong start to the season at home with wins against Bridgend and Neath. Now they aim to back up their Pandy Park success with a precious victory on the road to Gwent rivals Bargoed.

The Bulls brought in a number of high-profile recruits this summer but they are yet to settle, suffering a trio of losses.

They will hope to prosper thanks to a large contingent of ex-Keys with centre Barney Nightingale, fly-half Josh Prosser, scrum-half James Leadbeater and lock Adam Powell all starting.

The visitors make just one change to their winning side with experienced flanker Lee Evans returning. Teenage Dragons scrum-half Dan Babos is poised for his Keys debut from the bench.

There is another Gwent derby tomorrow when Newport entertain Bargoed with the Black and Ambers aiming to bounce back from a first disappointment of the season, and that against their fiercest rivals Cardiff.

After losing 29-27 at the Arms Park Newport make changes to the pack with starts for prop Dan Preece, flankers Josh Skinner and Kyle Taylor and lock Joe Bartlett, who comes in for South African forward Rynard Landman after his performances in black and amber earned a Dragons recall.

Geraint O'Driscoll is back at full-back, allowing the elusive Elliot Frewen to return to the left wing, while Geraint Watkin, a summer signing from Tata Steel, earns a first start at scrum-half after three cameos.

Bedwas have suffered three defeats, although the fixture list wasn't kind in giving them a trio of title challengers to start in Pontypridd, Merthyr and Llandovery.

Their pack is bolstered by Matthew Screech, who had been picked ahead of Landman in the Dragons' first three games of the season.

Ebbw Vale: D Haymond, S Thomas, C Meyer, D Franchi, T Fricker, R Jones, M Flanagan, J Harries, J Franchi, R Sevenoaks, L Randall, A Sweet, C Regan, R Kynes (captain), L Young. Reps: R Francis, R Jones, R Clarke, C Hicks, K Parker, D Jones, J Lewis, P King.

Newport: G O'Driscoll, J Morris, C Smith, T Pascoe, E Frewen, M O'Brien, G Watkin, D Preece, H Palmer, G Harris, A Mann, J Bartlett, J Skinner, K Tayler, R Jenkins (captain). Reps: L Tovey, L Smout, J Williams, C Williams, J Reid, R James, D Richards, H Simons.

Bedwas: M Hathaway, D Evans, P Lewis, A Williams, K Teear-Bourge, J Chilcott, T Rowlands, B Toms, A Rees (captain), E Evans, M Screech, C Hudd, J Richards, N Hudd, J Sheekey. Reps: T Devine, D Rogers, C Budgen, G Allen, S Parry, L Crane, M Callow, J Scrivens.

Bargoed: J Mogg, D Dyer, B Nightingale, D Humphries, A Norton, J Prosser, J Leadbeater, J Lavender, R Buckley, A Gardner-Key, L Blacker (captain), A Powell, L Johnson, A Herbert, G Rogers. Reps: M Bancroft, J Purcell, M Billett, O Cooper, J Locke, L Lippiett, N Thomas, R Morgan.

Cross Keys: L Andrews, W Cunliffe, S Majkic, D Williams, M Williams, J Tovey, O Leonard, G Carpenter, R Jenkins, R Cornock, D Welch (captain), H Reader, L Evans, T Lampard, J Thomas. Reps: C Vaughan, S Hoskins, C Hewlett, T James, J Carlin, B Snell, D Babos, I Newbury.

Other fixtures: Merthyr v Aberavon, Carmarthen Quins v Cardiff, Llandovery v Llanelli, Swansea v Neath.