- Kristian Woolf takes charge of his first competitive game as head coach of the Saints since the departure of Justin Holbrook.
- He will be without Tommy Makinson, Morgan Knowles and James Roby through injury.
- Ian Watson gives debuts to Chris Atkin, Kevin Brown and James Greenwood amongst others.
The last time the two teams met was in a memorable Grand Final in 2019 which saw Saints sink a resolute Red Devils side 23-6 in front of 64,000 at Old Trafford.
St Helens edged the league fixture between the two at Totally Wicked Stadium in an entertaining 32-30 win last season which included a brace from Niall Evalds and a hat-trick from Lachlan Coote.
Pre season has been the complete opposites for both sides, with Saints aiming to keep their strong squad together and in doing so making no signings whilst notably letting Super League Dream Team 2018 inclusion Danny Richardson go to Castleford.
Meanwhile Salford have overseen countless ins and outs, including the departure of the outstanding Jackson Hastings and the capture of Chris Atkin who impressed for Hull KR last season.
St Helens: Lachlan Coote, Kevin Naiqama, Mark Percival, Regan Grace, Jonny Lomax, Theo Dages, Alex Walmsley, Luke Thompson, Zeb Taia, Dom Peyroux, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Matty Lees, Kyle Amor, Jack Ashworth, Joseph Paulo, Aaron Smith, James Bentley, Matty Costello, Jack Welsby, Joe Batchelor, Lewis Dodd.
Salford Red Devils: Niall Evalds, Kris Welham, Dan Sarginson, Krisnan Inu, Tui Lolohea, Kevin Brown, Lee Mossop, Joey Lussick, Gil Dudson, Pauli Pauli, Tyrone McCarthy, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Adam Walker, Greg Burke, Luke Yates, Chris Atkin, Mark Flanagan, Josh Johnson, James Greenwood, Rhys Williams, Ken Sio.
The match will take place at Totally Wicked Stadium, Friday 31 January (7:45pm kick off).
