There are injury concerns for Drogheda United and Cork City ahead of their opening Setanta Cup matches tomorrow but both managers are looking forward to taking on their northern counterparts.

Drogheda boss Paul Doolin must plan without long-term absentees Declan O'Brien and Shane Barrett, while goalkeeper Dan Connor, centre back Jason Gavin (knee) and Shaun Maher (tendonitis) are also ruled out of the home game against newcomers Cliftonville.

The manager can take some comfort in the return of Guy Bates and Aidan O'Keeffe, though he will be without new signing Ibrahima Thiam as the Senegalese striker awaits international clearance.

Doolin is wary of the unfamiliar opposition but insists his team are eager to get their defence of the trophy underway.

"We're definitely looking forward to it," said Doolin today. "We haven't had many games this pre-season so it'll be good for the lads.

"Cliftonville look a decent side, we saw them recently and they played some nice football, you can tell they're hungry. But so are we. We want to be the first side to win this trophy three times in a row."

Cork are on the road first off and face a trip to face Dungannon Swifts at Stangmore Park.

The Leesiders drew 0-0 in Dungannon last season but Alan Mathews has already seen his side beat Wexford Youths 1-0 in a pre-season match on Saturday.

"It's our first competitive game of the season, so obviously we're looking forward to it. We know it's a difficult assignment for us and we will need to work hard to get a result," said the Cork manager.

Three Cork players, Neal Horgan, Sean Kelly and Colin O'Brien are all ruled out with groin injuries, while midfielder Colin Healy (knee) and striker Billy Woods (ankle) are also ruled out.

Kick-off in United Park is at 8.05pm, while Cork face Dungannon at 7.45pm.