Sir Alex Ferguson is relishing the prospect of his Manchester United side facing the unique challenge presented by Stoke on Tuesday.
After Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Liverpool, an encounter with Tony Pulis' battlers would not normally be viewed as the ideal method of recovery.
Yet, in much the same way as the Red Devils tended to overcome Bolton during the era under Sam Allardyce when they managed to get under the skin of all the other big clubs, they have emerged relatively unscathed in their meetings with Stoke.
A draw at the Britannia Stadium in September represented the first points dropped to the Potteries outfit since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2008.
And United must go back to 1976 for their last Old Trafford loss to Stoke, courtesy of a late goal from club legend Alan Bloor.
"You know what Tony Pulis's team will be like, they are the same all the time," said Ferguson. "They will be 100% committed and they always get stuck in. You have to cope with that. To be honest, I always enjoy it too.
"It was like when we used to play Wimbledon. No-one used to look forward to playing against them but my team started to because it was a physical challenge and in terms of taking the ball and playing football.
"Stoke are a different team altogether but they still have the same qualities of never giving in, so it is always a good challenge for us."