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Saracens have given Kelly Brown the nod over Jackson Wray at blind-side flanker for Saturday's Heineken Cup semi-final with Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham.
Mouritz Botha partners Steve Borthwick at lock, with Neil de Kock starting at scrum-half over Richard Wigglesworth.
Clermont include Wales full-back Lee Byrne and ex-All Blacks wing Sitiveni Sivivatu, who both missed the quarter-final win over Leicester.
With captain Aurelien Rougerie injured, flanker Julien Bonnaire leads the side.
Benson Stanley starts at outside centre alongside France star Wesley Fofana in Rougerie's absence.
Clermont dismissed Leicester in the quarter-finals as part of a home run that has seen them go 76 games unbeaten at the Stade Marcel Michelin.
Lock Nathan Hines, though, expects Sarries to provide a sterner test, and says Clermont will be using the memory of final defeat by Toulon 12 months ago as their motivation.
"Remembering that final motivates you: it was a difficult defeat to get over," said Hines, a Heineken Cup winner with Leicester in 2009.
"We were just disappointed with the way we played, especially in the last 20 minutes. Sometimes we look back and think 'we should have done this' or 'we should have done that'. It's always hard to lose in a final like that, but you've got to worry about what's ahead."
To win a Heineken Cup semi-final at the third attempt, Saracens must become the first English team to win a last-four tie at Twickenham.
Although three of the four finals to be held at England's HQ have been won by English teams (Northampton in 2000 and Wasps in 2004 and 2007), London Irish and Sarries - last year against Toulon - have both been beaten in semi-finals there.
"We know how difficult it is to win things but we've got ourselves into a cracking situation and need to take advantage of it this time around," said director or rugby Mark McCall.
"Just to get through to the semi-finals isn't enough for this group now, we need to kick on and win something. We all want to win trophies and know how difficult it is.
"I think we're as ready as we've ever been to meet a challenge like this. There's a genuine belief that we're in good form. We're a better team than we were 12 months ago and our game has evolved."
Saracens: 15. Alex Goode; 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Marcelo Bosch, 12. Brad Barritt, 11. David Strettle; 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Neil de Kock; 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Schalk Brits, 3. James Johnston, 4. Steve Borthwick (c), 5. Mouritz Botha, 6. Kelly Brown, 7. Jacques Burger, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: 16. Jamie George, 17. Richard Barrington, 18. Matt Stevens, 19. Alistair Hargreaves, 20. Jackson Wray, 21. Richard Wigglesworth, 22. Tim Streather, 23. Chris Wyles.
Clermont Auvergne: 15. Lee Byrne; 14. Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13. Benson Stanley, 12. Wesley Fofana, 11. Naipolioni Nalaga; 10. Brock James, 9. Morgan Parra; 1. Thomas Domingo, 2. Benjamin Kayser, 3. Davit Zirakashvili, 4. Jamie Cudmore, 5. Nathan Hines, 6. Julien Bonnaire (c), 7. Damien Chouly, 8. Fritz Lee.
Replacements: 16. Ti'i Paulo, 17. Vincent Debaty, 18. Clément Ric, 19. Julien Pierre, 20. Gerhard Vosloo, 21. Thierry Lacrampe, 22. Mike Delany, 23. Noa Nakaitaci.
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