One of the changes is in the backs with Ashley Smith replacing Gareth Maule in the centre after Maule failed to recover from a shoulder injury sustained against Ulster.
The other changes are among the forwards with Adam Black coming in for Hugh Gustafson and Michael Owen replacing Joe Bearman at No.8. Colin Charvis will captain the side and comes in at blindside flanker for Dan Lydiate.
The Dragons head to Scotland on the back of an impressive win over Ulster and are looking to build momentum after a mixed start to the season. They are in sixth place in the Magners League with eight points from their five games played.
Their opponents have six points from three matches and skipper Simon Cross admits he is delighted to reclaim the captain’s armband.
The back rower, 26, missed last week’s home draw against the Ospreys with a shoulder injury and scrum half Ben Meyer deputised in his absence. But the former Wasps No.8 returns at the base of the scrum for the visit of the Dragons and revealed he was thrilled to be back.
Cross said: “I’m really excited to be back because I found last week really difficult when I had to watch from the sidelines. I thought Benny Meyer stepped up and did a fantastic job, as we all thought he would. He has got all the qualities of a great leader, so I’m very grateful to him.
“I’m really looking forward to leading the team again on Friday. It is something I take very seriously and I hope we can maintain our unbeaten home record.”
Cross is set to pit his wits against Dragons’ captain Charvis and the Mauritius-born forward thinks he can learn a lot from watching the Wales international in action.
He said: “Colin is a quality player and he has been around with Wales for a long time and has bags of experience. As far as being a captain is concerned, I would like to think I could learn a lot from him.
“But at the same time, I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure Edinburgh win and if that is the case then I’ll certainly be a happy captain.”
Edinburgh:
15. Nick De Luca
14. Andrew Turnbull
13. Ben Cairns
12. John Houston
11. Andrew Maxwell
10. Phil Godman
9. Ben Meyer
1. Augusto Allori
2. Andrew Kelly
3. Geoff Cross
4. Craig Hamilton
5. Ben Gissing
6. Matt Mustchin
7. Ross Rennie
8. Simon Cross (Capt)
Replacements:
16. Steven Lawrie
17. Ryan Grant
18. Fergus Pringle
19. Roland Reid
20. Greig Laidlaw
21. Alistair Warnock
22. Matt Dey
Dragons:
15. Kevin Morgan
14. Gareth Wyatt
13. Rhodri Gomer Davies
12. Ashley Smith
11. Richard Mustoe
10. Ceri Sweeney
9. Wayne Evans
1. Adam Black
2. Steve Jones
3. Rhys Thomas
4. Luke Charteris
5. Andrew Hall
6. Colin Charvis (Capt)
7. Richard Parks
8. Michael Owen
Replacements:
16. Hugh Gustafson
17. Ben Daly
18. Joe Bearman
19. Jamie Ringer
20. Aled Thomas
21. Martyn Thomas
22. Alex Walker
