Former Bluebirds striker Nicky Maynard is the big threat to Newport County on the opening day of their League Two season.
County are looking for their first three-points haul on opening day since 2013 when they host Mansfield Town at Rodney Parade.
The Exiles will hope to improve upon a record of just one point from the last 15 available in League Two curtain raisers, while Mansfield head to South Wales intent on avenging play-off semi-final heartache against Newport back in May.
Newport loan signings Danny McNamara, George Nurse and Taylor Maloney could all feature in the opening fixture.
Striker Ade Azeez is out with an Achilles injury, while Dan Leadbitter and Ryan Haynes are also ruled out.
“Our squad has improved,” says Michael Flynn. “We’ll find out if the team has improved over the next few weeks, but the league has improved drastically.
“The aim is to improve year on year, but we could have a better season and not quite finish as high as we did last season because the league is a lot stronger.
“Some really big clubs have come down. Bradford, Plymouth, Walsall and Scunthorpe will all be looking to get straight back up.
“Then you’ve got Mansfield, who will have improved, and Northampton will be right up there.
“It’s going to be tough, but I don’t think Newport’s an easy place to come.
https://twitter.com/NewportCounty/status/1157313820165070848?s=20
“It’s going to be a really tough game against Mansfield.
“They’re one of the favourites to go up and it will give us a good benchmark to see where we are.
“It’s a tough start. It’s going to be a tough six weeks but if we come out of it with a few wins we can hopefully then kick on.
“Realistically, there are 16 or 17 teams who will be looking for a top-seven finish.”
“I expect the players to work hard for the shirt and push each other in training. We have a stronger squad this time and I expect them to carry out everything I ask of them.
“They’re a fantastic group, the team spirit is really good and hopefully we can have another successful league campaign.”
The Exiles 2019/20 League fixtures:
August
Sat 3 – Mansfield (H)
Sat 10 – Cambridge United (A)
Sat 17 – Plymouth Argyle (H)
Tues 20 – Walsall (A)
Sat 24 – Crewe Alexandra (H)
Sat 31 – Forest Green Rovers (A)
September
Sat 7 – Port Vale (H)
Sat 14 – Northampton Town (A)
Tues 17 – Macclesfield Town (A)
Sat 21 – Exeter City (H)
Sat 28 – Swindon Town (A)
October
Sat 5 – Carlisle United (H)
Sat 12 – Cheltenham Town (A)
Sat 19 – Scunthorpe United (H)
Tues 22 – Crawley Town (H)
Sat 26 – Colchester United (A)
November
Sat 2 – Salford City (H)
Sat 16 – Grimsby Town (A)
Sat 23 – Oldham Athletic (H)
December
Sat 7 – Bradford City (A)
Sat 14 – Stevenage (H)
Sat 21 – Morecambe (A)
Thurs 26 – Exeter City (A)
Sun 29 – Leyton Orient (H)
January
Wed 1 – Cheltenham Town (H)
Sat 4 – Carlisle United (A)
Sat 11 – Scunthorpe United (A)
Sat 18 – Swindon Town (H)
Sat 25 – Leyton Orient (A)
Tues 28 – Macclesfield (H)
February
Sat 1 – Plymouth Argyle (A)
Sat 8 – Cambridge United (H)
Tues 11 – Walsall (H)
Sat 15 – Mansfield Town (A)
Sat 22 – Bradford City (H)
Sat 29 – Oldham Athletic (A)
March
Sat 7 – Morecambe (H)
Sat 14 – Stevenage (A)
Tues 17 – Crawley Town (A)
Sat 21 – Colchester United (H)
Sat 28 – Salford City (A)
April
Sat 4 – Grimsby Town (H)
Fri 10 – Crewe Alexandra (A)
Mon 13 – Forest Green Rovers (H)
Sat 18 – Port Vale (A)
Sat 25 – Northampton Town (H)
