GREGOR TOWNSEND has congratulated Al Kellock ahead of the Glasgow captain making his 150th Warriors appearance tomorrow.

The 33-year-old will lead the team out in Parma against Zebre on what will be a landmark occasion for the former Scotland internationalist.

Kellock, who is now into his ninth season at the club, has been an inspirational figure for Warriors in a GUINNESS PRO12 campaign that has seen Glasgow rise up to second place.

And head coach Townsend said: "We're looking forward to returning to action after a three-week break, but we'll face a tough challenge over in Parma on Sunday afternoon.

"This is an opportunity for a number of players to show what they are capable of and I'm delighted for Fraser Lyle, who will be making his debut for the club.

"Zebre have always given us a really tough game on their home patch and they've already beaten Edinburgh and Ulster and run Ospreys close at home this season.

"Sunday will be a special day for Al as he joins a special group of Warriors to make 150 appearances for the club and I'd like to congratulate him on reaching this milestone."

Despite having a large batch of his stars away on international duty with Scotland this weekend, Townsend has still managed to field a strong team to continue their title push.

Peter Murchie comes in at full-back, while DTH van der Merwe continues on the left wing and Lee Jones returns from injury on the opposite side.

Richie Vernon returns to the Warriors back-line after playing at No.8 against Bath and he'll form a new centre partnership with Lyle, who will play his first game since joining in November.

After featuring for Scotland against France in the RBS 6 Nations last weekend, Peter Horne returns to the Warriors squad at fly-half and Niko Matawalu comes in at scrum-half.

In the front-row Alex Allan is at loose-head, Pat MacArthur continues at hooker and Mike Cusack is once again named at tight-head.

Tim Swinson returns from injury and starts in the second-row alongside Kellock.

James Eddie comes in at blind-side flanker, while Tyrone Holmes is back from injury at open-side and Leone Nakarawa moves to No.8.

Meanwhile, seven Warriors will line-up at BT Murrayfield tomorrow in Scotland's Six Nations crunch with Wales.

Glasgow wing Sean Lamont, the Dark Blues' most capped player with 91 appearances, returns to the side following a calf injury.

Other familiar faces include Stuart Hogg, Mark Bennett, Alex Dunbar, Finn Russell, Jonny Gray and Rob Harley.

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter said: "There's a huge amount of determination in this group to improve, with the challenge now to go one step further and deliver a winning performance for our home fans at a full BT Murrayfield.

"The boys love playing at home. The fans were outstanding throughout the autumn and we're looking forward to getting back out there, pulling on the jersey, rolling up our sleeves and having a good crack at a powerful Welsh side."