Bournemouth begin life as a Premier League club this weekend when they take on Aston Villa at the newly-named Vitality Stadium.
Following an impressive promotion from the second tier last time out, all eyes will be on Eddie Howe's men to see if they can maintain their entertaining style of play.
Bournemouth
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Six years after being handed a whopping 17-point deduction, which left their Football League fate in the balance, the Cherries now prepare for their first campaign as a top-flight club.
There is no denying that Bournemouth fully deserved their promotion last time out, coming in a season that saw them rack up more goals than any other side, while arguably playing the most entertaining brand of football.
In all, the South Coast club found the net on 98 occasions on their way to finishing top, but it remains to be seen whether miracle worker Howe will adopt a different brand of football this term.
The fates of Blackpool and Burnley, both of whom opted to stick to what they know best in the hope of team spirit helping them along, in recent times could have a say in how Bournemouth go about things.
Howe suggested earlier this summer that the positive style of play would remain, however, with the first test of that system coming on Saturday afternoon against an established Premier League side in Villa.
Bournemouth have certainly gone the right way about their business during the summer, bringing in strength across the field and particularly adding to the wide areas through Max Gradel and Christian Atsu.
A club-record fee was also splashed out for full-back Tyrone Mings, a player who in the past has been linked - like Gradel - with a top-four side.
Howe will now be hoping that his men go the same way as Reading and Hull City in winning their opening Prem fixture upon gaining promotion to the big time for the very first time.
Pre-season form: WWLDWLD
Aston Villa
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Having just about avoided relegation from the top flight last season, thanks largely to the firefighting task achieved by Tim Sherwood, Villa will now be hoping to battle it out higher up the table.
These are uncharted territories for Sherwood, though, who has just taken charge of a team during pre-season for the first time in his short managerial career.
The short-term work of the former Tottenham Hotspur chief cannot be questioned at either of his previous clubs, but now we will potentially see how he fares across the whole duration of a campaign.
While questions are still to be asked of Sherwood, the same can also be said of the Villans' new recruits. Scott Sinclair and Micah Richard are well known to Premier League audiences, yet Idrissa Gueye, Jordan Amavi, Jordan Ayew, Jose Angel Crespo and Jordan Veretout remain untested in English football.
Each brings with them plenty of quality, which could be exactly what Villa need to ensure that a relegation fight is not on the cards this campaign.
There is also the addition of Rudy Gestede in attack, a man who thrives off crosses into the box from wide areas, but key men have also departed during the off-season.
The loss of Fabian Delph came as something of a shock just a week after he verbally committed his future to the Midlands outfit, while Christian Benteke's goals were the difference between top flight and Championship football just a couple of years back.
Supporters will certainly hope that, with a change of manager in the dugout, combined with a new batch of players to cheer on, constant struggles could now turn into top-half finishes once more at the very least.
Pre-season form: LDWDDD
Team News
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Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carles Gil are both doubts after picking up knocks, but Sherwood will be confident of having both in his matchday squad.
Marquee signing Ayew is in line to make his Premier League debut on the South Coast, meanwhile, with fellow new boy Gestede providing cover should Agbonlahor miss out.
Jack Grealish, who stood out for Villa at the tail end of last season, is almost certain to miss out due to a slight hamstring injury, as is Jores Okore (knee).
Only MK Dons scored more goals than Bournemouth in the whole Football League in 2014-15, which was largely down to the creativity of Matt Ritchie in midfield.
On top of his 17 assists, Ritchie also piled in with 15 goals of his own, putting him behind only Callum Wilson in the scoring charts and, while the Cherries may lack experience on the whole, only 14 players have made more top-flight appearances than Sylvain Distin.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Boruc; Mings, Cook, Elphick, Francis; Pugh, Arter, Surman, Ritchie; Wilson, Gradel
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Hutton, Richards, Clark, Amavi; Westwood, Sanchez, Gueye, Sinclair; Ayew, Gestede
Head To Head
These two sides have not met in league competition since 1987-88, but Villa did get the better of their opponents in the FA Cup earlier this year.
The Villans came out on top 2-1 to keep their run alive, which only ended at the final hurdle when they came unstuck against Arsenal at Wembley.
Incidentally, this is Villa's fifth consecutive away game on the opening day, following a run of four in a row on home soil before that.
Howe's charges have won their last two opening fixtures, meanwhile, after managing just one in their previous 13, which stands them in good stead against a Villa side who have never previously got the better of a newly-promoted side in their opener.
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We say: Bournemouth 1-1 Aston Villa
Villa will no doubt need some time for their new recruits to settle in, while Bournemouth appear to be in a good shape to achieve their target of avoiding the drop. Anything could happen on the opening weekend, of course, but the points are likely to be shared on the South Coast this Saturday.
Daniel Lewis
