Manchester United host cross town rivals Manchester City in the most highly anticipated Manchester derby in recent memory

And thus it begins all over again

It's been about four months since that night in Rome...the night which left all of us with a bitter taste. It was a defeat like no other that Manchester United has ever suffered where we were completely outclassed by a rampaging Barcelona side and everyone of us would give a lot to banish those memories into oblivion. The pain of that defeat will sadly forever haunt us yet starting tonight, Manchester United have a chance to dull that pain somewhat.

Tonight, they start a new European season with a trip to the volatile atmosphere of Turkish stadiums to face Besiktas hoping once again to launch an assault on that coveted title of "European Champions". However, they are faced with anything but a cakewalk. The Turkish stadiums are a cauldron of vociferous noise and are renowned for intimidating the best of men.

Manchester United though go in to this opening game of the group stages in fantastic bent of mind after an authoritative performance against Tottenham at the weekend. With the team finally starting to gel and play some of the attractive brand of football that Manchester United are known for, Sir Alex Ferguson would be hoping for a comfortable away win.

On the team news front, there should be definite changes in the midfield with both Valencia and Nani looking set to start. The tireless Patrice Evra probably needs a game off considering that he's played in every game of the season so far and also took part in both France's international matches last week. So young Fabio could get a start. It would be a surprise though if Fergie chose a different forward pairing than Rooney and Berbatov.

For Besiktas the men to watch will probably be former Villareal striker Nihat Kahveci and Brazilian Bobo. Look out also for the imposing Rustu Recber in the Besiktas goal. The start to the new season has not been very good for Besiktas and Manchester United should have an easy win on the face of things.

And now to the match.

Manchester United look to kickstart campaign with victory against high flying Spurs

After a winning start which was more a workhorse performance, Manchester United would be looking to hit the accelerator against a seemingly hapless Burnley outfit which was given a rude awakening on the opening week.

Though United came away victorious on Sunday it was not a performance as such with Birmingham having several chances to draw the game. Also, though it was heartening to see a good performance from Wayne Rooney United did miss easy chances with Fletcher and Owen being the main culprits. Banging in more goals and ironing out the deficiencies in the defense will be the top priority for Fergie in this game.

However, United travel to Burnley for their first away game of the season in the wake of some serious defensive frailties due to injury. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are both out along with Gary Neville. Johny Evans joined them on the nursing table after the opening weekend. The good news though is a fit Wes Brown and it could be him partnering O'Shea in the center of defense though there is some talk of Richie De Laet being given a start. The midfield did not witness either of Carrick or Anderson on Sunday and one of them could very well start along with Fletcher. Michael Owen could be given a s tart too as Fergie has said that he will be rotating his strike force through the season.

It should be points in the bag stuff for sure but we are looking for a performance from the team, one befitting the status of champions.

And thus it begins...the 09/10 Premiership season is here. After an off season of excessive heartbreak in the transfer window and a trip to the east, Manchester United are set to kickoff the new season with dreams of acquiring the title for a fourth unprecedented successive time, a feat which if completed would further add to the mythical nature of the club.

The team that will now come out to achieve this daunting task will be visibly different from the one which left Rome on that fateful night in dismay and despair. For starters, the world's best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, has decided to finally fulfill his childhood dream and gone off to Madrid, Spain. Also, the once fan favorite Carlos Tevez decided to jump on the cash laden Manchester City bandwagon and then went on a tirade of sorts against the Gaffer. In the meanwhile, Fergie has added Antonio Valencia to the squad to make up for Ronaldo, the winger. However, the more daunting task of replacing Ronaldo, the goalscorer has fallen to an old Kop warhorse, Michael Owen. Saddled also with the mythical shirt No. 7 is the same man. So what does the season hold for us?

Will it be a 4th successive Premiership title for us? Will this be the season when we finally knock "Liverpool off their f***ing perch"? Or will the loss of Ronaldo whiff the flame? Will we see our crown get snatched away by The Italian diamond studded Chelsea? These are all questions which no one knows the answers to. These will only be answered in due course of the season. What we look to do is to give a seasonal preview of how it could all pan out for us.

Starting from the back, this is going to be Van Der Sar's last season. And his injury at the beginning gives a chance to Ben Foster to try and cement himself for the next season as our No.1. Whether that happens though is a very pertinent question considering the performance he put forth in the Community Shield.

The defense looks pretty much sorted with Rio and Vidic being the best defensive pairing in the world today. Backing them will be the fast emerging Johny Evans and once again fit Wes Brown who will also be pushing for a first team right back position. The left back position is filled with Evra and there is no cause for concern there. O'Shea will start as the No.1 right back but the performances of Rafael will be kept in notice by the Gaffer and he will start quite a few games as well.

The midfield however, is the area which has all of us worried. The loss of Ronaldo, coupled with the injury layoff of Owen Hargreaves have led to a seemingly thin midfield. Add the fact that Scholes and Giggs are no longer 90 min players and Anderson and Nani have flattered too often to deceive and you would get the worrying picture.

The silver lining amongst all this however is the emergence of Darren Fletcher as a world class defensive midfielder. If United hope to add trophies to the cabinet this season then Fletcher would need to not only repeat but excel his last season's performances. Michael Carrick will again be looked upon to be the creative genius in midfield. The wings will be taken care of by newly acquired Valencia, tireless Ji sung Park and a hopefully better Nani. Fergie would also be hoping that Scholes and Giggs have some fuel in the tank.

In the striking department the first choice pairing will be Wayne and Berbatov with everyone hoping that Berba shines as he did at Spurs. Owen will be used for the injection of pace and clinical finishing. However, everyone is looking to Wayne to accept the mantle of "the" man for us and hold true to the promise he once showed. Macheda and Welbeck will be able understudies and will be used as substitutes.

So, while the squad has undeniably lost two very good players, it is still capable of challenging on all fronts. It is a weakened side obviously, after all you don't not get weakened after selling the best player in the world, but the challenge lies in adapting to a new system which is more based on team work rather than on the individual brilliance of individuals.

It remains to be seen how the season unfolds, whether we do go on to capture the record 19th title or a record third straight European Cup final place will depend on how the existing players perform and adapt to the new responsibilities.