The Seasiders make the 642-mile round-trip to Devon to take on Ryan Lowe’s side, who were automatically promoted from the fourth tier last season. The Gazette caught up with Chris Errington, Argyle reporter for Plymouth Live, to find out how the Green Army are shaping up ahead of Saturday’s curtain raiser. How has pre-season/the first two cup games gone for Plymouth? Argyle played five pre-season games, including two against Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough while they were staying in Cornwall for a training camp. They lost the first one 1-0 at Home Park and were then beaten 3-1 in a match played over three 30-minute periods at their training ground. Argyle also went away themselves during pre-season, spending a week in Glasgow and playing a Rangers XI at their training base, narrowly losing 1-0. Argyle had an excellent start to the 2020/21 season when they defeated Championship club QPR 3-2 in the Carabao Cup first round at Home Park last Saturday, despite conceding the opening goal of the game after only 68 seconds. Ryan Lowe then made 11 changes for the EFL Trophy tie against Norwich City Under-21s, also at home, and they were beaten 3-2. What are the hopes and expectations for the team this season? Argyle were on an excellent run of results before last season ended early and they were eventually promoted from League Two on a points-per-game basis in third place. Ryan Lowe brought a feelgood factor back to the club after his appointment as manager last summer, with a particular focus on an attacking style of play, and that has been carried through into the start of this term. The Green Army have been excited by some of the signings that Lowe has made and there is a mood of cautious optimism that Argyle can give a good account of themselves at the higher level, despite the presence of lots of former Premier League clubs. Who have been the key arrivals since the end of last season? Ryan Hardie made a very good impression for the two months he was on loan to Argyle last season and his return for the whole of 2020/21 was a big boost for everyone at the club. The same applies to George Cooper, who spent much of 2019/20 on loan from Peterborough United, and has now completed a permanent transfer on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Powerful striker Frank Nouble gives Argyle a physical presence up front and scored a superb winning goal against QPR while former Wigan Athletic midfielder Lewis Macleod has the potential to be a shrewd signing. Who have been the key departures since the end of last season? The main one was 2019/20 player-of-the-year and 11-goal top goalscorer Antoni Sarcevic. He was offered a new contract in the summer but decided he wanted to move his back back closer to his Manchester home and eventually signed for Bolton Wanderers. Goalkeeper Alex Palmer was also outstanding for Argyle in League Two while on a season-long loan from West Bromwich Albion. He signed a new long-term contract with West Brom in the summer and, with Argyle opting to go with their highly-promising 20-year-old 'keeper Mike Cooper in 2020/21, Palmer has moved on a season-long loan to Lincoln City this time. Can you pick out a key player for Plymouth, and why? The playmaking ability of midfielder Danny Mayor should be better suited to League One than League Two, where he was often surrounded by opposing players and on the receiving end of some crude tackling to try and stop him. He scored only once last season and is capable of doing far better than that this time around. It was therefore encouraging to see him hit the target in the Carabao Cup win against QPR and get him off the mark. How well did Ryan Hardie do last season? And were Plymouth fans surprised Blackpool allowed him to return? He was undoubtedly one of the main reasons for Argyle's promotion last season. It was not just his return of seven goals in 13 games, but he also formed an excellent partnership with 20-year-old Luke Jephcott, who burst to prominence playing alongside him after being on loan at Cornish part-timers Truro City earlier in the season. The Green Army were desperately hoping that Hardie would return for 2020/21, either on a permanent transfer or season-long loan but I think we all expected Blackpool to take a longer look at the striker before deciding whether to let him leave again. One of Ryan Lowe's strengths as a manager is to identify players who fit into his style of play and to get the best out of them with his positive approach and attitude, and that has definitely worked with Hardie up until now.