All Black Jerome Kaino has been named at No 8 while Akira Ioane comes into the side on the blindside flank.
Auckland coach Nick White said it was not a big decision to leave Kaino at the back of the scrum as he was effective there while Ioane could slot in well at blindside flanker.
Blake Gibson will complete the loose forward trio although he is bracketed with Sinclair Dominikovich-Murray as Gibson is getting over a couple of niggles.
Kaino and Auckland captain Patrick Tuipulotu will return to Auckland on Friday morning to join the All Black squad to travel to Argentina.
Highlanders centre Malakai Fekitoa returns to the starting line-up at centre in his farewell to a ground he has graced for the past four years.
Auckland had been struggling in the Mitre 10 Cup but managed its second win of the season last Friday night in beating Southland 27-17 in Invercargill.
Otago will name its team later today after it checks on the damage resulting from its rugged encounter against Tasman last Saturday.
Lock Josh Dickson and loose forward Dillon Hunt both picked up head knocks on Saturday - Dickson in the warm-up - while Hunt left the field in the first half after making an awkward tackle.
The match is the first of three in 11 days for Otago in a period that will have a large impact on how it progresses this season.
The match is for the Lin Colling Memorial Trophy, named after the late All Black halfback who played for both provinces.
Auckland holds the trophy after it had a commanding 54-17 win at Eden Park last year.
Comments
With the Auks boosting their forward pack with extra firepower this ll be a tough match. I would ve had Otago as clear favourite if Kaino and Tuipulotu were nt playing. With former Highlanders favourite Fekitoa playing in blue and white this games got a strange feel to it. Hard to make a prediction with how this season has gone, but will be a good match. C MON OTAGO.