Bournemouth begin life back at the second tier with a testing home encounter against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon.
As for the visitors, they will be targeting a playoff spot at the end of the campaign after finishing in 11th position in the Championship standings last season.
Match preview
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Having taking the opportunity to step up to the main role after Eddie Howe's departure, Jason Tindall will be desperate to get off to a winning start this weekend.
However, with numerous key players yet to be replaced, there must be some realism regarding Bournemouth's chances of putting together a strong sequence of results from matchday one.
As it stands, eight members of last season's group have moved on to pastures new, while many of the squad members which remain are being strongly linked with a transfer before the end of the summer window.
Although Tindall has been reassured that he will be provided with funds to bring in fresh faces, that is yet to materialise, leaving him to rouse a set of individuals who were not always viewed as first choice under Howe.
In the absence of Callum Wilson, Tindall will be hoping that forward Dominic Solanke can build on finally breaking his goalless streak in league games at the back end of last season.
Like Bournemouth, Blackburn have opted against mass incomings for the time being, only bringing in goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski from Gent.
Nevertheless, throughout Tony Mowbray's reign at Ewood Park, expectation has been rising on a season-by-season basis, and the next step is gaining a spot in the playoffs.
Losing five of their last eight matches put paid to that last season, with Rovers ultimately finishing seven points adrift of sixth-placed Swansea City.
Having missed out by a small margin, Mowbray may still be unsure about whether to regard the most recent campaign as a success or failure, but he will be aware that his side can ill-afford to lose further momentum after their slump earlier in the summer.
Bournemouth form (pre-season friendlies): LW
Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions): W
Team News
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With five at the back seemingly his preferred formation, Tindall may keep the same outfield players that he selected for the friendly win over West Ham United.
Of those who were on the substitutes' bench, Philip Billing and David Brooks have the best chance of being restored to the first XI.
Mark Travers will start in goal after spending the past week on international duty with Republic of Ireland.
Kaminski should make his debut in goal, taking the place of Andy Fisher, who featured against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup.
Joe Rothwell could come in for Lewis Holtby in central midfield, although Corry Evans is an option after being provided with game time while representing Northern Ireland.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Smith, Rico, Simpson, Mepham, Stacey; Lerma, L Cook; Brooks, Stanislas; Solanke
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan, Wharton, Bell; Travis, Johnson, Rothwell; Chapman, Armstrong, Brereton
We say: Bournemouth 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Given the players that have departed Bournemouth this summer, their favourites tag for the weekend cannot be justified. With Blackburn also having 90 minutes of competitive football in their legs, we think that the visitors will deservedly earn a share of the spoils.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Blackburn Rovers win with a probability of 45.58%. A win for Bournemouth had a probability of 29.61% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackburn Rovers win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.25%) and 0-2 (7.55%). The likeliest Bournemouth win was 1-0 (7.41%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.7%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.3% likelihood.
