GEORGE BIAGI has the inside track on what it takes to beat Edinburgh in more ways than one. The Scots-born second-row, was part of the side that stunned Duncan Hodge's men back in October and is looking to lead his side to complete the double over the capital side ahead of their move from Murrayfield to Myreside.

Hodge’s players have to pick themselves up quickly from Monday’s disappointing defeat at the hands of Glasgow Warriors when they travel to Italy for their last match of 2016.

Zebre have won just one Guinness PRO12 match this term and sit bottom of the pile heading into 2017 but Biagi and his team-mates will be buoyed by the knowledge that their sole victory came against Hodge's side, courtesy of Giovanbattista Venditti’s late try which gave them their first win in Scotland.

It means Edinburgh will head to the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi for the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday well aware of their hosts' capacity for causing an upset.

Not that their captain Biagi, who will be furnished with a little local knowledge, sees it that way. The 31-year-old was born in Irvine in north Ayrshire and, after a spell in Italy, only came to rugby when he was 13 after he started boarding school at Fettes College in Edinburgh.

Biagi says he has been unimpressed by Zebre's output this season adding that the team has failed to kick on from the previous campaign when they recorded five wins.

Ahead of this weekend’s match he said: “We have been pretty disappointed with how things have gone this season to be honest. Last season we won five matches during the PRO12 season and up to now we have only won one so we are going to have to go some to repeat that."

He does accept, however, that the Italian outfit have particular challenges to overcome that are not as prevalent at other sides in the competition.

“The season did not get of to the best of starts for numerous reasons and because of budgets our squad is not as deep as a lot of others in the PRO12. When the November Tests were on for example we really struggled because we had so many guys away with Italy and youngsters had to step up to the mark.

“It was a good experience for them and I have been pleased with their application and work rate, but it takes time to get used to playing at this level. Our best team performance to date came against Edinburgh. We really dug deep for that win and frustrated them on their own patch.

During his time growing up in Scotland, Biagi was encouraged by coaches to play on the wing where, as a teenager developing physically, he did quite a bit of damage.

He soon became more at home in the forwards and after finishing school Biagi decided to continue his studies in Milan at university. Since then he has moved into the professional ranks and won 14 caps for Italy in the process.

“For me it is always really exciting to play against Edinburgh and Glasgow because of my Scottish links and I know that a lot of my family and friends will be watching. I think a few of my friends were a bit annoyed about our win over Edinburgh, but from my point of view I am looking to repeat it on Saturday.”

It was not just friends who were miffed at the defeat, Edinburgh’s players and staff were also pretty frustrated by the manner of the loss.

They went down 19-11 the last time they visited Parma on league duty back in October 2015. As a result they will be fired up for this one and Biagi is expecting Edinburgh to come flying out of the blocks.

“From the outside looking in it seems like it has been quite an up and down season for Edinburgh,” said Biagi who has been kept busy during the festive period by his six-month-old daughter. "They have beaten teams like Harlequins and Ulster, but they seem to be struggling for consistency and we have to try and play on that and make them nervous. I know that they will be eager to get off to a god start and impose themselves on us in the set piece.

“They have some good scrummagers and the likes of Ross Ford and Grant Gilchrist lead their pack pretty well. We pride ourselves on doing a good job as a pack too though and scrum time will be crucial to the outcome of this one.

“I know Edinburgh will want to get back to winning ways, but we want to give ourselves a big boost heading into the new year and we are the home team so it is up to us to stick to our game plan and try and get the upper hand.”

Edinburgh have been warned.