Mick McCarthy has just one more pre-season fixture to cement what he believes will be his best team to take on Barnsley next weekend.
Cardiff City's pre-season campaign has not been all sunshine and roses, it has been good in flashes but has also been a struggle at times.
The squad is laced with fitness concerns, while four of the players are at different stages of recovering from Covid.
READ MORE: Cardiff City hit by four Covid cases and brutal injury list
There is just one more opportunity for some players to impress, but here we look at what Cardiff City's likely XI looks like for the opening-day fixture with Barnsley.
Goalkeeper
It seems fairly set in stone that Dillon Phillips is the nailed-on starter for the first game of the season.
Alex Smithies is a top operator at this level, but both he and Phillips, who joined a year ago from Charlton, have had to battle it out for the gloves over the last 12 months.
Both had their shot under McCarthy last term and while both largely impressed, they also dropped a few clangers, too.
But, by and large, Cardiff have two very good goalkeepers to choose from.
Phillips appears to be the preferred choice for most of pre-season and was superb against Forest Green Rovers. Expect him to start on August 7.
Defence
The manager's hand is probably forced at wing back.
We know McCarthy likes to deploy five at the back, making the wing-back role crucial in this system.
Tom Sang has been struggling to overcome a toe operation which kept him sidelined at the back end of last season. He has had an injection in the problem toe and McCarthy expects him to be available for selection, but one would suspect Perry Ng will get the nod.
On the other side, Joel Bagan will be the shoo-in. He has overcome his shoulder surgery after dislocating it against Huddersfield back in March. He is also, really, the only natural choice for that position in Cardiff's squad.
At centre back, well the big question mark is over Sean Morrison. The Cardiff captain has not played all pre-season and missed seven of the last eight games of last season.
McCarthy hopes he will play a part on Saturday against Newport, though, so there is slight hope he could be fit enough for Barnsley.
But perhaps Mark McGuinness will get the nod. He has been impressive in pre-season and could slot in comfortably on the right side of that back three.
It will be interesting to see how much Morrison plays against Newport, if at all, and whether that dislocated elbow is still troubling him.
Midfield
There are two ways McCarthy could go on the opening day. Either two in the middle of the park with three up top, or pack it out with three central midfielders and two out and out strikers ahead of them.
Given Leandro Bacuna is isolating after contracting coronavirus, Will Vaulks is banned for the first game and Ryan Wintle is struggling with a groin problem, though, the manager's options are thin on the ground anyway.
Marlon Pack and Joe Ralls seem nailed-on to start. If McCarthy opts for a two it would be those two, one would think. If it is a three, perhaps Ryan Giles might be deployed in there as well, otherwise expect him to start on the wing.
Forwards
A lot will hinge on Kieffer Moore's fitness. If he is fit to play, then he will likely start in a formidable front two alongside James Collins, who has banged home four goals so far in pre-season.
If Moore is not fit enough, though, which is a real possibility given he still can't train at 100 percent just yet after contracting coronavirus, then McCarthy might have to opt for three up front. Collins through the middle, Giles out on the left and potentially Mark Harris on the right.
Rubin Colwill is in a similar position to Moore in that he cannot train at 100 percent just yet following his positive Covid test, while McCarthy has essentially ruled Josh Murphy out of starting against the Tykes.
Lee Tomlin has featured regularly in pre-season, but there is a sense that he will have to earn McCarthy's trust first. It seems highly unlikely that he will start on the opening day.
In all likelihood, the team selection will hinge on the fitness of Morrison and Moore and that will alter the personnel in the side.
With a week to go, there is hope both can get in shape to line up against Barnsley next weekend, because McCarthy knows how valuable a strong start to the season will be.
Best case scenario : Phillips; Ng, Morrison, Flint, Nelson, Bagan; Giles, Pack, Ralls; Moore, Collins.
If fitness issues aren't overcome : Phillips; Ng, McGuinness, Flint, Nelson, Bagan; Pack, Ralls; Harris, Collins, Giles.
