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At first glance, the numbers point to a forgone conclusion: Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks, who cross Hadrian's Wall after a victorious stopover in London in what's been an already highly successful year.
The standard fighting talk coming out of the Scotland camp this week has been the hosts explaining how they are confident they could upset the bookies by taking the game to the world's number one team.
In all honesty, it's difficult to imagine Scotland ending their 105-year losing streak although they have every reason to be positive.
Victory over the Wallabies this time last year proved that nothing is impossible and a series win in Argentina in June underlined the strength of Andy Robinson's squad.
This is the strongest Scotland team we've seen in a long time but can the hosts realistically match the All Black juggernaut?
Unfortunately, the spotlight this week once again fell upon the inconsistencies of the judicial process. While the merits of Keven Mealamu's suspension and subsequent appeal are not relevant here, all of Scotland will be hoping the media frenzy created by the whole palaver will have disrupted the All Blacks' front row.
Scotland have a strong scrummaging unit and after England got the upper hand last week, Saturday's hosts will hope to find a chink in the All Blacks' armour.
Another question mark hangs over how New Zealand's back-line will adjust to another reshuffle, with Sonny Bill Williams given a run at number twelve as Graham Henry and co. experiment to find where best to use the man-mountain. After a strong debut at Twickenham, don't expect SBW to be the weak link in a very well-oiled machine.
Judging by the remarks coming out of the both camps this week, we should expect captain Mike Blair and his team playing positive rugby - weather permitting.
The current laws require teams to keep ball in hand to be successful, but Scotland will be ill-advised to go for an all-out throw-it-about approach.
The last time New Zealand visited Murrayfield (in 2008) they romped to a 26-point victory over a Scotland side that attempted an overly-expansive approach. Pragmatism will be the name of game.
Players to watch:
For Scotland: In the absence of the injured Alastair Kellock, 21-year-old Richie Gray has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few months. The Glasgow lock has impressed Andy Robinson enough to get the nod ahead of Test veteran Nathan Hines, which is testament to his potential. Three brief appearances off the bench in the Six Nations gave Gray a taste of Test rugby, now he will have to take his game to the next level.
For New Zealand: The subject of much debate in the Land of the Long White Cloud, Isaia Toeava is nearing the last chance saloon. With no shortage of back-line options for the Kiwi selectors, "Ice Man" is in desperate need of a big performance.
Head-to-head: Both sides have slightly changed back rows, but neither has been significantly weakened. Scotland's 'Killer Bs' are now the 'Two Bs and a V' and face a massive task against Kieran Read, Richie McCaw and Liam Messam. The latter, who made his Test debut against Scotland in 2008, gets a rare start and will be bubbling over.
Previous results:
2008: New Zealand won 32-6 at Murrayfield
2007: New Zealand won 40-0 at Murrayfield
2005: New Zealand won 29-10 at Murrayfield
2001: New Zealand won 37-6 at Murrayfield
2000: New Zealand won 48-14 in Auckland
2000: New Zealand won 69-20 in Dunedin
1999: New Zealand won 30-18 at Murrayfield
1996: New Zealand won 36-12 in Auckland
1996: New Zealand won 62-31 in Dunedin
1995: New Zealand won 48-30 in Pretoria
Prediction: Unless the heavens open to turn Murrayfield into a bog and the game into a lottery it should the same old story: Scotland to hang in there for the first hour before being outgunned in the last quarter. New Zealand by fifteen points!
The teams:
Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Rory Lamont, 13 Max Evans , 12 Graeme Morrison , 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Richie Vernon , 7 John Barclay , 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray , 3 Euan Murray , 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen .
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Nathan Hines , 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Nikki Walker.
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Isaia Toeava, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu/Hikawera Elliot, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Daniel Braid, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Ma'a Nonu.
Date: Saturday, November 13
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Venue: Murrayfield
Weather: 7° C . Light rain showers.
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)