Edinburgh v Glasgow: Richard Cockerill - 'If they don't get it right, we'll beat them'

Cockerill says he and Glasgow coach Dave Rennie (left) "actually get on pretty well"

Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill says Glasgow cannot afford to under-estimate his side in the first of two festive Pro14 derbies on Saturday.

Cockerill's side beat their inter-city rivals twice at Murrayfield last season in their best-of-three 1872 Cup series.

"Last year we were a bit of an unknown to everybody," Cockerill said.

"This year everyone is taking us a bit more seriously. I'm sure Glasgow won't be taking us lightly. They know if they don't get it right, we'll beat them."

Edinburgh, who top their European Champions Cup pool, currently lie fifth out of seven in Conference B of the Pro14, seven points behind Ulster in the third play-off spot.

Glasgow, also in contention for a place in the Champions Cup quarter-finals, lead Conference A by seven points and are well on course for a place in the play-offs for a seventh time in eight years.

Cockerill believes Warriors have greater strength in depth - they can afford to leave Scotland centre Huw Jones on the bench and other internationals like Alex Dunbar and Ryan Wilson out of their 23 altogether.

But he believes that at close to full strength - flanker Jamie Ritchie is still not fit, while centres Matt Scott and Mark Bennett remain sidelined - Edinburgh "are good enough to beat anybody".

"There's a good edge about the games because Glasgow now know we're competitive," he added. "We have got better and I think they have got better, which is good for Scottish rugby.

"We are two different teams. We are in a different cycle to them; we are still building. There are some guys missing from their side who would walk into anyone else's side. They have that luxury at this point.

"But we are going to come with a winning mindset and are looking forward to the challenge. We are playing a very good side but we are coming here to win. It should be a very tasty game."

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'We've prepared well. We should play well'

Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie acknowledges his side will have to perform well to get the upper hand on Saturday.

"We know what they're going to bring," he said. "We're going to have to be good to get a result.

"They're very, very structured. They'll kick and chase and apply a lot of pressure through that. If we can do a good job around diffusing their kicking game then we should get plenty of opportunities to attack from it.

"They're a very well organised defensive side. Our ability to hang on to the ball for long periods is going be really important. We're clear on what we need to do. We've prepared well, we should play well."