Town are back at The Envirovent Stadium on Saturday and looking to get back to winning ways.
Unbeaten – and yet to concede – in their two games at home this season, they will be looking to extend that record against a Newport County side got off the mark over the past week with a pair of wins in the league and Carabao Cup.BUY TICKETS
Our opponents
After reaching the playoff final in the 2020/21 season the Exiles finished the 2022/23 campaign in 11th place.
James Rowberry had taken over in the early stages of last season and was forced to reshape his squad in the off-season after the loss of key players Dom Telford, who joined Crawley, and Finn Azaz, who returned to his parent club after a hugely success loan spell.
In came Omar Bogle, who had a good spell at Hartlepool over the second half of 2021/22 and Offrande Zanzala to try and replace Telford's goals, whilst Aaron Wilding arrived from Morecambe to add some creativity to the midfield.
Rowberry saw his side lose their opening three games in the league before getting off the mark last weekend against Tranmere Rovers and following it up by knocking Portsmouth out of the Carabao Cup.
Previous meetings
In Town's first season as an EFL club both sides prevailed 2-1 at home. At Rodney Parade a late Brandon Cooper goal earned the points against ten-man Town with goals from Josh March and Aaron Martin turning round an early deficit in the return fixture.
Last season the sides shared a 2-2 draw under the lights at The Envirovent Staidum, with Town's goals coming from Jack Muldoon and Luke Armstrong. The return encounter saw Town fall to a heavy 4-0 defeat with League Two top scorer Telford nabbing a brace.
The man in charge
Boyhood County-fan Rowberry took charge in October 2021, having previously been on the coaching and Academy staff at Cardiff City.
He had also been an Academy coach at Newport prior to joining Cardiff and was a youth player at the club as well as at Bristol City before moving into coaching.
Ones to watch
Omar Bogle has gone some way to replacing Telford, hitting the target three times so far this season.
Veteran Mickey Demetriou remains a strong presence in the back line for the Exiles with Scott Bennett anchoring the midfield.
Youngster Thierry Nevers, recently arrived from West Ham on loan could be a player to watch, alongside fellow loanee Nathan Moriah-Welsh.
History
Initially founded in 1912, County were re-formed in 1989 and worked their way back through the non-league set up to reach the Conference Premier for the 2010/11 season before a further promotion to League Two was earned following the 2012/13 season, where they have remained since.
One of their most famous seasons came back in 1980/81 when they reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup before being defeated by Carl Zeiss Jena 3-2 on aggregate.
County subsequently slipped down the divisions though and found themselves relegated from the Football League in 1987/88 and were declared bankrupt the following season.
Team news
Simon Weaver remains without defenders Rory McArdle and Will Smith as well as Josh Falkingham and Max Wright as they continue their recovery from injuries that has seen them miss the beginning of the 2022/23 season.
Stephen Dooley remains out injured, while George Thomson also misses out due to the injury he suffered at Holker Street, which will keep the midfielder out for a couple of months.