The Cobblers should be travelling in good spirits given their excellent recent form but the game has been completely overshadowed by the ongoing off-field issues surrounding the club which this week, for the first time, have impacted the players directly as their wages have not been paid.
Opponents Newport will be confident after successive away wins as Wycombe Wanderers and Bristol Rovers, the latter a 4-1 rout, have taken them out of the bottom two in the division.
New manager John Sheridan has sparked the upturn in fortunes but he told the South Wales Argus this week that there is still plenty of work to be done.
“We’re still in a very vulnerable position,” said Sheridan, an experienced League Two operator like his opposite number on Saturday, Chris Wilder.
“I still see lots of faults in our game – even in the Bristol Rovers game there were lots of things we need to improve on.”