Manchester United begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday night against Astana.
And while the game may well be a good opportunity for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to rotate his squad and hand opportunities to youngsters like Mason Greenwood, Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong, United are coming up against an almost complete unknown entity.
Aatana, based in the Kazakhstan capital city of Nur-stan, have only been formed for 10 years after initially being created in 2009 as Lokomotiv Astana. They've never faced an English club in their history, though did beat Celtic 4-3 in 2017 European qualifying (though lost 8-4 on aggregate).
They first really broke through into European football in 2013 and have been regulars in the Europa League group stage — and even made the Champions League group stage in 2015/16.
But what can United expect from the current iteration of Astana? Is there any chance of a shock result when the sides meet at Old Trafford this week?
MEN Sport spoke to Alexandr Strelnikov, editor-in-chief of Sports.kz, about Astana, their fans and history and the challenge they'll pose to United on Thursday night...
How much does a game against Manchester United mean for Astana and their fans?
"The game with Manchester United is something special in the club history of FC Astana.
"Man United have a lot of loyal fans in Kazakhstan. And so such famous clubs as Manchester United play against Kazakhstan teams very rarely. In fact, everyone in Kazakhstan is looking forward to game with United."
What is Astana's European pedigree? How good are they?
"Over the past five seasons Astana has invariably become the champion of Kazakhstan and has invariably made its way into the group tournament of one of the European club tournaments.
"Once it was the UEFA Champions League. Astana has gained good European experience and can create problems for almost any opponent."
Who are the best players to watch out for?
"Right winger Marin Tomassov deserves special attention — the Croatian player is now Astana's top scorer. The central midfielder from Iceland Runar Mar Sigurjonsson has also fitted in perfectly with the team.
"The team’s leaders are Belarus midfielder Ivan Mayevsky, left-back Dmitry Shomko, utlity player Yuri Logvinenko and 37-year-old goalkeeper Nenad Eric."
How hopeful are Astana that they could surprise United and pick up a result?
"It is clear that there is practically no chance for Astana against Manchester United, but the champion of Kazakhstan will try to show their best game in England.
"At home Astana will try not to lose in the match with United and they feel they will have a good chance of picking up a draw at least."
