Sri Lanka will open hostilities against the Black Caps on Friday in their first tour of New Zealand for eight years, looking to acclimatise to conditions for the World Cup.
There are two Tests, the first in Christchurch from Boxing Day, but the emphasis is on the 50-over game, with seven one-dayers as a warm-up to the February-March tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
"We have to be mentally and physically fit for the most-important game on February 14," coach Marvan Atapattu said, referring to the clash with New Zealand in the World Cup opener.
Sri Lanka humiliated England 5-2 in a one-day series, a result that contributed to Alastair Cook's sacking as limited-overs captain, and notched Test and ODI series wins over Pakistan in August.
But skipper Angelo Mathews said he expected a tough match against New Zealand, particularly since Mahela Jayawardene's retirement from the long form of the game to concentrate on a World Cup swansong.
"We're playing without Mahela for the first time in about 18 years and that's going to be a challenge for us.
"But there's pressure on all of us anyway. This is going to be a challenging series. Playing against New Zealand in New Zealand is going to be tough. They've been playing really good cricket in the recent past."
Sri Lanka will be without Rangana Herath for the opening Test, the spinner straining a hamstring against England.
Only Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene have experienced New Zealand's seam-friendly wickets before in tests.
"Getting used to the conditions will be key for us," said Mathews.
"We've been playing a lot of cricket in the sub-continent over the last six months or so, so we really need to make the most of our practice sessions and try and adapt to these conditions as best we can."
Sri Lanka, 1996 World Cup winners and runners-up in 2007 and 2011, are fourth in the ODI rankings and fifth in the Test standings, with New Zealand placed sixth and seventh respectively.
The Kiwis, who recently drew a Test series and their ODI series with Pakistan in the UAE, want to make a statement to home fans ahead of the World Cup.
Under Brendon McCullum's aggressive leadership, they have shown they can compete with the best and are desperate to build momentum leading into the World Cup.
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