For a visiting club with such a rich history of its own, an away trip to Preston in the FA Cup is a fitting match for Manchester United.
The fifth-round clash -- having needed a replay to get past League Two Cambridge, will take place at Deepdale -- the oldest ground in the Football League. The last time the hosts defeated United was back in 1959, a 4-0 victory in what was then the First Division. Though such a chastening reverse is not on the cards now -- one 4-0 Cup defeat is quite enough for one season -- United's recent performances suggest that a win on Monday will be far from straightforward.
Indeed, Preston are only three points behind MK Dons, who provided Louis van Gaal's men with their greatest humiliation so far this year, and it is likely they will have watched reruns of that game with some interest. Preston also should be confident after their triumph in the previous round over Sheffield United, who reached the semifinals of this competition last year.
United, meanwhile, will not be complacent. They have not won this tournament since 2004, their last trip to the final coming in 2007. Moreover, this season's FA Cup represents an excellent chance of silverware, with several of the Premier League's leading teams already eliminated.
The good news for them is that two of their most creative players, Angel Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj, looked much more like their best selves in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Burnley, and were arguably United's best performers in what was otherwise a largely substandard showing. Both should feature again on Monday, but the balance of United's central midfield and attack may again stop them being as effective as they truly should be.
Here, Wayne Rooney deserves particular focus -- and praise. It is hard to remember any other forward of his quality or status, either in the UK or abroad, who has had to fill in so consistently for other members of his team.
You might call it "The other Rooney rule" -- the law which dictates that anywhere where Rooney is willing to be played, he will be played. For long periods of his career, he played second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo, often peeling wide as a winger while Ronaldo prospered at the point of the attack.
Now he finds himself in a deep-lying role, where he has been highly effective against some teams but has struggled against the very best. In playing here, he is supporting Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie in attack, even though there is a strong argument that he is currently a better No. 9 than both of them. In fact, a front two of Wayne Rooney and James Wilson could be a partnership that brings Van Gaal the pace, movement and goals that his team needs.
Were Rooney and Wilson to be supported in midfield by a four comprising, say, Di Maria, Januzaj, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind, then they might be far closer to the vision of attacking football that United provided so thrillingly in that first half away at Leicester City.
However, that is probably too adventurous a formation for the match against Preston. This tie might see the return of Marouane Fellaini, whom Van Gaal used in the last round against Cambridge United to excellent effect. Van Gaal may well calculate that the League One side will try to disrupt his team's passing rhythms with physicality and high intensity pressing, so Fellaini's appearance either in the midfield or up front at some point would not be a great surprise.
Rooney's attacking instincts must be allowed to flourish at some point in this game. He made a couple of fine late runs into the area against Burnley, but his movement forward was limited by his attention to his defensive duties.
If Van Gaal continues to use him in midfield, then he has the challenge of enabling Rooney to get forward often, as Wesley Sneijder has so often done in a similar role for Netherlands. To that end, Herrera showed against Burnley that he can operate well in a more defensive position, following recent rumours that his tactical indiscipline is one reason why he has been regularly benched.
On the face it, this is a game where United's captain is well-placed to take centre stage. He has not yet won this trophy, the only absence from a fantastic club career at domestic and international level, and his desire to put that right is well-known. He has a record of just under one goal in every two games in FA Cup matches, with several spectacular strikes among them.
On Monday night, should he be given a little extra tactical freedom, he will be in prime position to produce more of the same.