Melbourne Victory is the odd team out when it comes to the opposition that Manchester United will face during their four-game tour of the Asia-Pacific, but Erik ten Hag believes that that their point of difference is an important one.
After defeating Liverpool 4-0 at Thailand's Rajamangala Stadium, United flew into Melbourne on Wednesday for the next leg of their preseason tour; set to face off with reigning Australia Cup champions Victory on Friday evening and Premier League foes Crystal Palace the following Tuesday, both at the venerable Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Red Devils will then jet across the Nullarbor to take on another Premier League foe in Aston Villa at Perth's Optus Stadium the following Saturday, before returning back to Europe to continue their preparation for their 2022-23 campaign.
Victory, as a result, represents the only local side that United will take on during their time in the Southern Hemisphere. And the four-time A-League Men champions approach and personnel are a far cry from the foes that Ten Hag is set to become familiar with during his time at Old Trafford.
But as he seeks to bed down his style and establish his standards amongst his new playing group, this level of unfamiliarity is exactly why the Dutchman is welcoming the task ahead.
"We are happy with the game because it's a different opposition," Ten Hag said on Thursday. "It's always good to play a different culture. It will be a different approach from Liverpool and Crystal Palace; that's a club we know what we can expect.
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"But Melbourne Victory is different. They play at a good level. They were second in the league last year, so they will be a strong squad. The coach [Tony Popovic] is well known, he is very familiar with top spot and top football.
"So, we are looking forward to this game and we know it will be a good test."
Ten Hag confirmed that Harry Maguire, who has been recovering from a knock, trained with the rest of the touring squad and that the United skipper was in contention to feature for the first time this preseason on Friday, potentially for up to 45 minutes.
Friday, likewise, will be the first hitout for the Victory in their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign, with the defence of their Australia Cup crown set to begin with a meeting with reigning ALM champions Western United on Aug. 3 and the start of the new ALM season itself set for the weekend of Oct. 7.
The Australian powers announced the signing of ex-United star Nani on a two-year contract earlier in the week, and the attacker has been training with his new side in recent days in the hope that he will potentially be able to feature in some capacity against his former side.
Though the exact figure of tickets sold for Friday's game is unclear, Victorian minister for tourism, sport and major events Steve Dimopoulos said that 150,000 tickets had already been sold for United's two-game residency at the MCG.
"It's definitely different to what we're normally used to," Melbourne Victory captain Josh Brillante told ESPN.
"They're a massive powerhouse in the Premier League and their style of football is very different to ours. We don't always get the chance to play someone like that so it's going to be a great experience for us.
"No matter who we're playing we're always looking to put in a top performance and tomorrow night is no different. I think everyone is just super excited to get out there, the atmosphere is going to be lightning so it gives you that extra buzz.
"It feels like we just finished the season not too long ago, a couple of weeks back into training and let's kick off the first preseason game against Man United. So, the buzz has been there for a while now and it's a great game to kick off with, to show where we're at as a team."