Germany will be expected to coast through Group D after taking on all comers to win the FIFA World Cup in July.

Scotland, on the other hand, has not qualified for a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France and it would be a major surprise if the world champion fail to start with a win at Signal Iduna Park on Monday (AEST).

Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker have all retired from international football since Germany's triumph in Brazil and it was beaten 4-2 by Argentina in an international on Thursday (AEST).

Low will also be unable to call upon injured quartet Mats Hummels, Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Sami Khedira and the Germany coach is wary of the threat posed by Scotland.

"Scotland are the kind of team Germany has always struggled against. With their sheer commitment and their running - they are a team who never give up no matter what the score is," he said.

"They are difficult opponents for us on Sunday. We've gone from being hunter to potential prey.

"If you look at this group and Scotland and Ireland, they come across as similar teams. They have similar playing styles, who excel for their passion and physicality of their football.

"We know this group is anything but easy because all the teams will try as hard as they can to make life difficult for us."

Georgia hosts the Republic of Ireland, while Poland travels to Gibraltar in the other Group D matches to be played on Monday (AEST).

While Germany prepares to deal with the increased expectation of being world champion, Vicente del Bosque's new-look Spain squad plays its first competitive fixture since failing to win a fourth consecutive major tournament.

Spain fans had become accustomed to success after winning back-to-back UEFA European Championships and lifting the World Cup in South Africa four years ago, but they were brought back down to earth with a bang as the team crashed out in the group stages in Brazil.

Xavi, Xabi Alonso and David Villa have all called time on their illustrious international careers since then, but Del Bosque stayed on as coach and will expect a victory in their Group C clash against Macedonia in Valencia on Tuesday (AEST).

Spain's Group C rival Ukraine entertains Slovakia and Luxembourg hosts Belarus in other matches on Tuesday (AEST).

Guus Hiddink will attempt to carry on the good work done by Louis van Gaal when the Netherlands starts its qualifying campaign with a tricky clash against the Czech Republic in Prague on Wednesday (AEST).

The experienced Hiddink takes over a side that finished third in Brazil and will be expected to top Group A. Iceland hosts Turkey and Latvia takes on Kazakhstan in Astana in the other two matches in that section.

Roy Hodgson will need a significant improvement from his England side when it faces his former employers Switzerland, while San Marino takes on Lithuania and Slovenia travels to Estonia in the opening round of Group E fixtures.

Antonio Conte will be eager to mark his first competitive game in charge of Italy with a Group H win against Norway in Oslo on Wednesday (AEST), while Croatia will be expected to see off Malta and Bulgaria locks horns with Azerbaijan.

Portugal hosts Albania on Monday (AEST), while Denmark takes on Armenia in Copenhagen in the other Group I fixture. Greece faces Romania in Group F, with Finland up against the Faroe Islands.

Austria starts its Group G campaign at home to Sweden, with Russia hosting Liechtenstein and Montenegro entertaining Moldova on Tuesday (AEST).

Bosnia-Herzegovina has home advantage when it starts its Group B campaign against Cyprus on Wednesday (AEST), while Wales travels to Andorra.