Manager Gary Johnson knows more than most the competitive edge that Wycombe Wanderers will bring to the LCI Rail Stadium this weekend.
Johnson worked with current Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth during his time at Cambridge United.
And in-form Wanderers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa has also worked alongside Johnson at Northampton.
“Wycombe have plenty of goals in their games, but they are scoring more than they are letting in because they are right up there,” said Johnson.
“They have been one of the teams that are mixing it with some of the big boys up there. We have watched the last few games and what they do.
“Bayo (Akinfenwa) is fantastic at what he does. He told me five years not to write him off and he really has done great for himself.
“He is certainly strong and whatever happens he is going to win headers.
“I also know Gareth (Ainsworth) well from when he was a player at Cambridge. I know them well, Scotty (Brown) too. They are all competitive team.”
Johnson acknowledges he is set for a selection headache ahead of the game with a squad likely to be boosted by the return of Joe Morrell and Jake Andrews.
But is competition for places that he welcomes, adding: “We’ve got good numbers and people will miss out. We can only play five of the seven loans and all seven will probably be available.
“Joe (Morrell) is back and should be fit after training. I have got to make decisions and a couple will miss out on the bench. But I can only pick what I feel is the team to win that game.
“You pick the ones who show form and the ones who don’t will find themselves out of the team.
“There is a route back in, but if they spit their dummy out they have got no chance. If they keep working hard and keep being part of the group, then that is the best way to do it.”
Reflecting on the narrow defeat at Sincil Bank in midweek, Johnson added: “I felt we did okay at Lincoln. I thought we coped with the atmosphere well and when we looked at the stats we had more possession and the same amount of chances.
“It was close and we probably deserved a draw because we got on the ball at times and we just needed that one finish. We had three or four opportunities to take away a good point.
“But we move on and we’ve got to look forward to these next set of fixtures. We weren’t a million miles away against Lincoln and we have got to keep that going.”