Alex Salmond has accused the coalition of trying to dictate the terms of the referendumMembers of the Scottish Parliament will be asked to back Alex Salmond in his row with the UK government over the independence referendum.
The first minister has laid an amendment at Holyrood saying the Scottish Parliament should decide the timing and arrangements for the ballot.
UK ministers have insisted that would be unlawful.
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont will call on Mr Salmond to hold immediate cross-party talks.
A Labour motion to be debated at Holyrood will argue Scots civic groups must also have a say.
However, Mr Salmond's amendment calls on MSPs to back his stance which prefers a ballot in the autumn of 2014.
The first minister also urges parliament to support his view that 16-year-olds should be able to vote.
The UK government insist MSPs do not currently have the authority to hold the ballot.
Westminster ministers have suggested transferring that power to Edinburgh but only if there is a single yes or no to independence question which is overseen by the electoral commission and sticks to the current rules of only allowing over 18s to vote.
The Scottish government is due to publish a consultation document on the referendum within the month.
The UK government said it recognised the SNP's right to hold the referendum, in the wake of its landslide election victory last May.
But UK ministers said that, because the UK constitution is reserved to Westminster, new powers must be devolved to Holyrood to make it legally watertight and avoid a challenge in the courts.
The Scottish government disagrees with that position, and has accused the coalition of trying to dictate the terms of the referendum by attaching "strings", over issues such as the question which appears on the ballot paper.
In the Scottish Parliament, Ms Lamont will say the cross-party talks are needed to ensure early debate on the referendum and a "clear result" on the issue, by putting a single question to voters on whether they back independence.
She will also call on the SNP government to drop its opposition to the campaign being overseen by the Electoral Commission.
Johann Lamont said the referendum must be held in a clear mannerHolyrood ministers said the commission was ultimately answerable to the UK parliament, and they have floated the idea of setting up a new body to deal with the referendum.
Scottish Labour's call comes after Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband joined forces to reject calls for independence, which the Liberal Democrats also oppose.
The referendum is also likely to dominate 2012's first session of first minister's questions.
Under the Scottish government's timetable, a Referendum Bill would be introduced at Holyrood in January 2013, with the expectation it would be passed by the autumn, and gain Royal Assent later in 2013.
The UK government said it wanted to work with Scottish ministers to make sure they could hold a referendum which can produce a legally binding result.
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