“That is our goal naturally, but we have some new players this season, so the more important thing is to help them settle in and get used to playing in Hong Kong,” he said.

“I’d say one or two of those new boys may start [on Saturday], but the newcomers will have to play at some point [to get match fitness] because the AFC Champions League group stage starts on September 18.”

Among the newcomers, Macedonian centre-back Aleksandar Damcevski, and left-back Shinichi Chan are expected to start, but midfielder Tan Chun-lok could start from the bench.

Turkmenistan winger Ruslan Mingazov, who scooped three prizes at the Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards in May, is also expected to be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Lee Man can surprise AFC Champions League powerhouses Urawa Red Diamonds

“It’s only the start of a long season, so there is nothing dramatic,” head coach Chu added. “The players will get into shape gradually, the good thing is that there are no major injury concerns for us.

“Helio [Goncalves] received a knock during training recently, he’s at 70 or 80 per cent right now so he’ll probably be a game-time decision.”

Meanwhile, Tai Po head coach Lee Chi-kin is embracing the chance to test his team against the Hong Kong heavyweights in the first game of the season.

“Kitchee are really strong so it’s going to be difficult for any team to play against them,” Lee, who guided the district team to their only league title in 2019, said. “We are going to try our best and see what happens.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing [to play Kitchee in their first game] if we think from another perspective – the pressure to secure points will definitely be bigger if we are facing opponents at the same level.”

Tai Po’s new Brazilian duo – striker Michel Renner, and centre-back Marcos Santos – are both expected to start.

Lee also insisted Renner is a “different type of player” to Paulinho Simionato, who left in the off season to join Lee Man.

“I think their functions on the pitch are not entirely the same,” he said. “Renner is good at building up the offence.”

Separately, Resources Capital, who finished eighth last season, will host Premier League newcomers Crownity North District at Tsing Yi Sports Ground.

North District, who finished third in the First Division last season, will play their home games at North District Sports Ground in Sheung Shui, but the team is expected to make their first appearance at home in October because of ongoing maintenance at the arena.