There will surely be smiles and handshakes before the match, but those niceties will dissolve once the teams step foot onto the pitch.
City have the benefit of featuring several players who were amongst last season's Athletic team, but also have the gambit of several young, locally-developed players who could add some uncertainty to Taranaki's game plan.
City coach Kelvin Francis was tight lipped when last asked about the formation and tactics he would take into the game, refusing to comment on whether he would persist with his side's new 4-3-3 attacking formation, or revert to a more comfortable and safe defensive formation against a team which, even so early in the season, are shaping up to be true title contenders.
Francis will surely have no problem with his squad carrying the underdog tag into this fixture, and will no doubt have been instilling some fighting pride into his team during this week's build up.
The match kicks off at 2.30pm on Wembley Park, with a win for City today sure to send a very clear message to every other team in the league.
I'm picking City to step up for this one, in a close match, with maybe only a single goal being the difference at the final whistle.
For those looking for a full day's worth of football today, be sure to get over to Wembley at 12.30pm to watch the City Reserves search for their first competition points in the Western Premiership against the Red Sox Manawatu Rovers.
The Reserves should go into this match with some confidence, after defeating the same team during their Easter Cup campaign merely a few weeks ago.
Never one to instil anything but an attacking attitude in his teams, City coach Karl Hayward will have been using the last few weeks to hone his squad and embed the philosophies of his style of play for the season.
While the Reserves may still be smarting from last week's loss to the City Renovators, they'll have plenty of confidence in their ability to play good football, with plenty of victories under their belt during the pre-season and their Easter Cup campaign.
I'm picking the Reserves to bounce back from last week's loss with a 3-1 victory to kick start their premiership campaign.
Also in the Western Premiership, the other two Wanganui teams are away from home, with both looking to continue their winning starts to the season.
Athletic will be buoyed after last week's come-from-behind victory against the Marist Banshees, and will take that confidence with them as they travel to Skoglund Park in Palmerston North today at 12.30pm.
The Reds will no doubt be looking to Perry Stewart to again produce some goals, after not only providing a goal for them in last week's win, but also finding the net a couple of times in the local Charity Plate competition with Athletic's reserve team, as the new team look to gel and find their style of play.
While still a fairly green team, club stalwarts like Scott Burney, along with up and coming talent like Jordan Gilmore and Joshua Parker should provide Athletic with plenty of promise for the coming season.
With their tails up after a great start, I'm picking a 1-0 victory to the Reds.
Tex von Kwiatkowski's City Renovators are also on the road today, making their way to Levin's Donnelly Park to put their patient possession-based style of play to the test against the physical Levin AFC 1sts.
Last season's City team always knew they were in for a tough match when they visited Levin, and this season is sure to be more of the same.
It should be an interesting match-up between the two sides, as the two vastly different styles of play collide.
With the Renovator's being largely a youthful side, it will be interesting to see how they hold up against these more experienced players, and whether they can temper their emotions and maintain their patient build up play.
If the Renovators lose their cool, and succumb to the pressures of the more physical style of play, this match could easily swing Levin's way.
However, if they are able to frustrate Levin through composed play, and taking the opportunities, this could be victory for the young City lads. I'm going for the safety of a 1-1 draw, but am hoping to be proved wrong in City's favour.
