Burnley and Nottingham Forest will look to put down an early marker of their promotion ambitions.
Debuts aplenty in store at Turf Moor
Burnley and Nottingham Forest will look to put down an early marker of their promotion ambitions when meeting at Turf Moor.
Following relegation from the Premier League last season, Burnley will be eager to bounce back at the first attempt as manager Brian Laws comes up against the club he served with distinction as a player.
Forest suffered a near miss in the race for a place in the top flight last term after finishing third before losing in the play-offs to Blackpool, who clinched promotion at Wembley by beating Cardiff City.
Clarets midfielder Chris McCann is set to miss the home date with Forest, but four new players could be handed debuts.
McCann is to see a specialist next week about the niggling knee injury problem that has curtailed his pre-season.
McCann, who missed a large chunk of last season with two knee injuries, is currently undergoing treatment for a knock sustained during the Clarets' tour to Singapore.
He has been out of action since and boss Laws is keen to get a second opinion on the problem.
McCann's absence aside, Laws has four new signings at his disposal for the Championship opener at Turf Moor in Chris Iwelumo, Ross Wallace, Dean Marney and Lee Grant.
Laws said: "Everyone apart from Chris McCann is fit and available and vying for a place in the team."
Forest news
Ryan Bertrand is set to make his debut for Forest after signing on a six-month loan deal from Chelsea.
The 21-year-old is likely to go straight into the starting line-up and solve Forest's problematic left-back slot.
With Julian Bennett still not match fit following 20 months out with a career-threatening knee injury, midfielder Chris Cohen was poised to fill in.
Boss Billy Davies has several minor injury worries, but the Scot hopes key defenders Wes Morgan and Kelvin Wilson, captain Paul McKenna and fellow midfielder Paul Anderson and striker Dexter Blackstock will be fit.
David McGoldrick will be a definite absentee after the striker suffered a shoulder injury in a freak accident last month.
