Centre Tom Isaacs will also make his 50th Ospreys appearance in the fixture but it is the return of the Wales man which is the main talking point.
Jones was called up to Rob Howley’s Wales squad this week but after impressing as a replacement last Friday, he now gets the chance of more game time in the PRO12.
The Welsh region return to Ireland exactly a week after a famous win over league leaders Ulster, Ryan Bevington securing the win with a magnificent solo effort.
And following that result, Tandy’s side will take on tenth placed Connacht in confident mood.
“It’s really important that we back up last Friday’s win in Ulster with some good performances over the next couple of weeks,” said Tandy.
“We need to make sure we show the same attitude, commitment and application against Connacht, Edinburgh and Munster, and if we do that, we should get our rewards.”
Both Arthur Ellis and Sam Davies will make their PRO12 debuts if they come off the bench in Ireland and despite having 10 players unavailable for selection because of international duty and a number of injuries, Tandy says his side are competing well.
“We’ve got no room for error in the end of season run-in. Three defeats in our first three games mean that we have had to play catch-up and with more away games than home games remaining, it makes it doubly difficult,” he added.
“We are used to facing challenges though and this group has real character so we are looking forward to the tests that we’ve got coming up.
“We know that it’s going to be a difficult evening in Galway and we know we have to be thoroughly professional.”
