As landmark games go, it was actually fairly low-key.

Most pre-season fixtures are, but when Chester City took on Burton Albion in the summer of 2005 there was a buzz of excitement around the friendly fixture.

For this was the first game to be played at the Brewers' Pirelli Stadium, their £7.2m replacement for their old Eton Park home.

Burton, then of the Conference and managed by Nigel Clough, had lured Manchester United to Stafforshire for the official opening of the ground, but that match could not be played until November. So the honour of being the first visiting club to play there fell to Keith Curle's Blues, then of League Two, on July 15, 2005.

Why Chester?

It was more a chance arrangement than something which had been months in the planning.

Clough's explanation was short and sweet. The Brewers boss said: "Chester asked if we could give them a game on that date and we thought it will be useful to have an extra dummy run for the new ground." It really was as simple as that.

Parts of the stadium appeared to be still under construction when Chester arrived, with workmen hanging from scaffolding in the main reception area. Fans had been asked to bring the correct change with them, to speed up the process of passing through the new turnstiles.

A crowd of 1,341 turned out, and most went home disappointed with the result as Chester claimed a 1-0 win in a quiet contest. Trialist Avun Jephcott was the man with the goal, netting a tap-in to become the first player to score at the Pirelli Stadium. Despite carving his name into the history books, he wasn't retained by Curle that summer.

How times change

The two sides were only one division apart 11 years ago, and it was the Blues who were rightly regarded as the bigger side at the time. But a lot has changed in those 11 years. And when the teams meet for a friendly at the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium this Saturday (July 30), it will be Burton who are the pre-match favourites.

While the Blues have had to rebuild from the wreckage of the Stephen Vaughan era, reforming as a fan-owned club in 2010, Burton have steadily climbed through the Football League. Their second-placed finish in League One last season earned them a place in the Championship and, fittingly for this Saturday's clash in Chester, the man at the helm will be Nigel Clough, who will be looking to make amends for that loss to the Blues on his team's big day 11 years ago.

How they lined up

The Chester starting XI v Burton was: MacKenzie, McNiven, El Kholti, Regan, Artell, Davies, Drummond, Walker, Blundell, Lowe, Smyth.

Do you remember the game? Let is know in the comments section below.