The Patriots will play their third preseason game in 10 days and fourth overall when they face the Giants at 7 p.m. tonight in the Jersey Swamp.

Which Patriots will play in this exhibition finale is always a mystery.

Bill Belichick refused to tip his hand earlier in the week — no surprise there — but you can be sure even if the likes of Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo play at all, it won’t be for long. This is traditionally the game when the stars sit and the subs get an opportunity to shine in an effort to curry favor with a coaching staff that will reduce the roster from 75 to 53 players by Friday night.

In addition to the players trying to hang onto their dream of playing professional football, there are ones who have made the roster but are looking to improve their standing on the depth chart.

With all that in mind, here are five areas worth paying special attention to tonight:

Offensive line

The first question is whether left tackle Nate Solder, left guard Logan Mankins, center/right guard Dan Connolly and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer play at all. It certainly appears the starters could use the work, both individually and collectively, considering the way Brady has been harassed this month.

The foursome of Dan Koppen, Nate McDonald, Donald Thomas and Ryan Wendell will definitely see plenty of action. Koppen appears to be in the strange position of fighting for a roster spot after having spent his first nine seasons in New England as a starter. McDonald, Thomas and Wendell are in contention for the final starting spot that would be available if Pro Bowl right guard Brian Waters opts to retire.

Running back

Stevan Ridley has apparently won the starting job. He’s also been nicked up lately. Fellow sophomore Shane Vereen has also been banged up, meaning don’t expect to see either player tonight.

Danny Woodhead also figures to be an interested observer.

Defensive back

Assuming everyone is fit to go, expect to see a lot of Marquice

Cole and Alfonzo Dennard at cornerback and Sergio Brown, Nate Ebner and James Ihedigbo at safety.

Kick returner

This was a major area of focus coming into camp. With the preseason set to end, it can only be considered a major disappointment.

Seven players have combined to average 19.8 yards a return. To put that in perspective, the Patriots finished 29th in the league last season with a 21.4 average.

Olympic sprinter Jeff Demps signed with the Patriots on Aug. 17 with the idea he might help in that regard. The undrafted rookie from Florida had pedestrian returns of 23 and 21 yards in his NFL debut, which, to be fair, came just a week after his signing.