The seasoned Ruan Pienaar is back to start at scrumhalf for the game, while Cohen Jasper will start at fullback.

In the pack, George Cronjé will start at 8th-man, with Jeandré Rudolph unavailable because of a knee injury.

The seasoned Hencus van Wyk in turn will start at tighthead prop again in place of the injured Aranos Coetzee. Coetzee injured his quad during last week’s win against the Griffons in Bloemfontein.

Friedle Olivier plays off the bench in his return from injury. Olivier has been out of action for some time now after injuring his ankle during the first Free State derby against the Griffons in Welkom.

The Cheetahs, Hawies Fourie, told OFM Sport that a win is a non-negotiable.

“We need to improve and this weekend it is another home game,” said Fourie.

“We messed up in the Sharks game, so we cannot afford another loss at home. We will definitely improve on the performance against the Sharks, as well as last week's display against the Griffons.

“We are looking forward to it and we know that it will be a tough battle. They've got guys like Jean-Luc du Plessis and Clayton Blommetjies who are really good and promising backs.”

The occasion will also see Roberth Ebersohn representing the Free State in his 100th game, while the captain Victor Sekekete will play in his 50th match for the team.

Saturday’s game at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 13:00.

Cheetahs - 15 Cohen Jaspers, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Munier Hartzenberg, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 7 Sibabalo Qoma, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Schalk Ferreira.

Replacements - 16 Chucky van der Westhuizen, 17 Mox Mxoli, 18 Lawrence Victor, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Friedle Olivier, 21 Daniel Maartens, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 David Brits.

Western Province - 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Lloyd Koster, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Luke Burger, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis (captain), 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Dylan de Leeuw, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Kwenzo Blose.

Replacements - 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Adré Smith, 20 Louw Nel, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Duncan Saal.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport