Cardiff have started the season with two wins in three games and lie fourth in the URC table.
Dragons have gone 20 games without winning a league match since defeating Ospreys in September 2024 but van Zyl is wary of their local rivals.
“It’s a Welsh derby, which are always tight affairs and Rodney Parade is a tough place to go,” said van Zyl.
“The Dragons rotated their team a bit last week, so they will be fresh and hugely motivated to take us on.
“They will throw everything at us, but we are excited by the challenge.”
Dragons: O’Brien (co-capt); Dyer, Owen, Ackerman, Inisi; de Beer, R Williams; W Jones, Coghlan, Hunt, S Davies, Carter (co-capt), Lewis-Hughes, Beddall, Wainwright.
Replacements: Burrows, Martinez, D Lewis, Screech, Woodman, N Armstrong, C Evans, Anderson.
Cardiff: Winnett; Adams, Beetham, B Thomas, Bowen; Sheedy, A Davies; Domachowski, Belcher (capt), Assiratti, McNally, Nott, Mann, D Thomas, Faletau.
Replacements: E Lloyd, Southworth, Sebastian, Thornton, Lawrence, Basham, Mulder, I Lloyd.
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (WRU), Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR).
