Albion set for big effort
Albion defeated London Welsh in early November before the British & Irish Cup brought a three-week break from the league. The Devon men then returned to Championship combat last weekend after a loss to Leinster and a draw with Newport in the Cup.
At Brickfields last weekend, Dawe's men recorded a 20-15 win over Rotherham to move them up into the Championship promotion play-offs zone.
"We played well against Rotherham. The forwards did what they were supposed to do and the backs struck and finished well," said Dawe. "It's always nice to win games and we never take any win for granted."
Albion have already endured one heavy defeat against the Blues – a 38-3 reverse at Brickfields in September – and Dawe is eager to avoid a repeat.
He said: "We were competitive against Bedford at home and were quite pleased with certain aspects of our game. The scoreline didn't truly reflect the match.
"We're under no illusions that it will take a big effort whether you play them home or away. But having lost to them, it would be lovely to even it up to 1-1."
However, Dawe's side will be weakened by the loss of prop Martin Rice, who joined Premiership outfit London Wasps on loan this week. George Porter takes over the number one shirt.
Rice, 27, has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave Albion should a Premiership club come calling.
Wasps, who have been hit by numerous front-row injuries, will now look to include Rice in their squad to face French side Bayonne in the Amlin Challenge Cup tomorrow and the return fixture in France on Thursday.
However, Dawe expects the Plymouth-born forward to return to Albion, hopefully before their clash with the Exeter Chiefs on December 19.
He said: "He's wanted to have a go at a higher level for quite a while. Other clubs are aware of his potential and now's the perfect time for him. He's at his best, he's fit and there will never be a better opportunity for him.
"The maximum time Wasps can keep Martin for is until January 9. We are hoping he will be back before then, but it all depends on if he gets included in their squad or not. We are hoping that he will be available for the Exeter game."
There is still no place in the starting line-up for club captain Kieran Hallett, however. Dawe said: "I'm sure Kieran will have another opportunity at some stage and he'll demonstrate what a fine player he is. You like to be able to pick the team on form every week – that's not always the case through injuries – but that's certainly the case at the moment.
Bedford director of rugby Mike Rayer, who saw his side draw 15-15 with Coventry last weekend, expects Albion to arrive full of confidence. Speaking on his club's official website, he said: "We know Plymouth are on a bit of a roll at the minute.
"They went down to London Welsh recently and won and then backed it up with a couple of good performances in the British & Irish Cup before getting the win against Rotherham on Saturday.
"They are going to be full of confidence and they will come here with their usual game plan and try and implement that on us. But we need to take control of the game and get the scoreboard ticking over."
Plymouth Albion: M Lee; B Mercer, K Fisilau, S Tu'ipulotu, L Gibson; A Davies, R Cushion; G Porter, J Clark, R Hopkins; M Lewis, T Skelding; W Sprangle, R Watts-Jones; K Marriott (capt). Replacements (from): K Hallett, G Kingdom, M Hopper, D Porte, J Owen, T Hotson, D Clayton, D Morton
