The New York Yankees’ upcoming three-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs will be just another series for many players on the roster, but this will not be the case for Anthony Rizzo.

For the first time since his departure from the Cubs, Rizzo is set to meet his former team. This will also be the first time in 11 years that he will bat against the side where he made a name for himself in the majors.

Much has changed for Rizzo since his exit from Chicago ahead of last year’s MLB trade deadline. For one, he is once again playing on a World Series-contending squad, as the Yankees currently boast the best record in the American League with a 41-16 mark. The Yankees notched their 41st victory of the campaign on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins as, while Gerrit Cole allowed seven earned runs in the game, the offense picked up for him with a 10-run outing.

This dramatic road win over the Twins brought Rizzo to note some similarities between this year's Yankees team and the 2016 Cubs.

“You go off your past experiences and try not to compare things, but yesterday is a prime example of just a championship team,” Rizzo said ahead of Friday's contest.

“Our ace gives up a bunch of runs and in the dugout, we're just ‘alright, here we go.' … There was a game in Arizona in '16 that Lackey was pitching earlier in the season, very similar, he gave up a bunch of runs and we all just looked at each and said ‘here we go.'”

Rizzo made reference to an April 6 start by John Lackey against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2016 campaign, where although the veteran starting pitcher gave up six earned runs in the game, the Cubs offense responded by scoring 14 total runs.

The Cubs went on to win the World Series in that season, and six years later, Rizzo sees that he could very well go on to add another ring to his trophy cabinet.

“We can do something special, a lot of things have to go your way, but we have that team,” Rizzo said.

The Yankees currently hold a seven-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East standings.