Old Trafford plays host as Manchester United look to set the tone for a Premier League-winning season by beating Tottenham Hotspur in their opener on Saturday.
Victory is anything but a foregone conclusion, however, as Mauricio Pochettino's side will hope to get their top-four bid underway by dealing the hosts a second successive opening-day defeat.
Manchester United
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Twelve months ago, Manchester United - who embarked on one of the most lavish summer spending sprees in history - found themselves the butt of the joke after losing their opening-day fixture to Swansea City at Old Trafford.
Such a disappointing start had a domino effect and Louis van Gaal's side went on to win just five points from a possible 15 in the early stages of the Dutchman's tenure.
They need only remind themselves of that turmoil and the fact that they finished 17 points behind champions Chelsea to know that a fast-and-furious start is key to a serious title challenge this time around. Their rivals will certainly not wait for them should they again fail to race out of the traps.
Van Gaal's side recovered throughout the season to salvage a top-four finish in the end, but having spent a further £82m this summer on the likes of Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, a title bid is a must.
Unlike the visit of Swansea, though, there is far less room for complacency against a Spurs side that will hope to be challenging for a Champions League place come May.
Goals from Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney saw the hosts romp to a 3-0 victory in this fixture last season - a win that also came midway through a six-match winning streak - and three points in a similar manner would not go amiss this weekend.
Recent league form: LLLWDD
Pre-season form: WWWL
Tottenham Hotspur
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Despite drawing one of the short straws in terms of opening-day fixtures, Spurs bring an element of unpredictability with them to Old Trafford on Saturday.
Having only signed three players - Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld - in a quieter transfer window than they have been known for in recent years, it is difficult to gauge Tottenham's realistic targets for the 2015-16 season and their chances of upsetting United this weekend.
Whether it is by accident or design, there seems to be less hype surrounding the Lilywhites' Champions League qualification hopes compared to recent years.
Absent from Europe's elite competition since the 2010-11 season, Spurs' pre-season question invariably centres around whether or not they can rub shoulders with the continent's superpowers once again. Having only signed defenders thus far, it seems unlikely at the moment.
Saturday's clash is the first of 38 Premier League games, but it is also a chance to see how far Spurs have come under the Argentine - and perhaps how far they can go this season.
Recent league form: WDLLWW
Pre-season form: LLLW
Team News
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Van Gaal confirmed that David de Gea will play no part tomorrow amid speculation linking the goalkeeper with a move to Real Madrid. Consequently, new signing Sergio Romero - signed on a free transfer - is expected to be one of four debutants.
The Dutchman noted that Schweinsteiger is short of match fitness so Michael Carrick could partner new boy Schneiderlin in midfield, while Darmian could feature at right-back.
Captain Rooney will spearhead the attack while Depay could support in a number 10 role, having played there in pre-season.
Meanwhile, Pochettino claimed that he has a "good feeling" over Hugo Lloris's and Ryan Mason's chances of starting tomorrow.
The French goalkeeper suffered a wrist injury in the win over AC Milan, while it is unclear as to what is hindering Mason.
Elsewhere, Pochettino said that he will assess Roberto Soldado and Andros Townsend in training today to determine whether or not they can make it.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Romero; Darmian, Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Carrick, Schneiderlin; Young, Memphis, Mata; Rooney
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Bentaleb, Dembele, Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane
Head To Head
Prior to Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, Spurs had only beaten United once since 2001 - a memorable 3-2 win at the Theatre of Dreams in the Scot's final year before retiring. However, it would be fair to say that the North Londoners have fared far better since Ferguson's exit. Van Gaal's men romped to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford last season for what is their only success over Tottenham in the last six meetings - two defeats and three draws.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
We reckon that the hosts will have learned the lesson taught to them by Swansea 12 months ago as an opening-day win looms. It will be anything but straightforward, but Van Gaal's charges should have slightly too much quality against a side yet to finalise their squad following a relatively quiet transfer window thus far.
Shane Callaghan
