It's only mid-September but the clash between Hull City and Birmingham City is the latest of a number of fixtures that have already been billed as a relegation six-pointer.
Both clubs have been touted in several quarters as potential relegation candidates come the season's end and those claims will not fade for some time unless Phil Brown and Alex McLeish can mastermind a run of victories to claw their respective sides up the table.
As expected, both sides slumped to demoralising derby defeats at the weekend.
The Tigers made the short trip to Sunderland in what was the closest the Premier League will get to a north-east derby this season.
A fair first period at the Stadium of the Light was not enough from the Tigers, as Sunderland ran riot to win 4-1 and confirm that City have one of the worst defences in the top flight.
The Blues welcomed city rivals Aston Villa to St Andrew's on Sunday morning and were left heartbroken by a late Gabriel Agbonlahor header which claimed all three points for the visitors.
It was perhaps the case that Birmingham deserved a 0-0 draw from the match, but the game confirmed their status as one of the least able teams in the Premier League when it comes to scoring goals.
The Blues' ability to score will be even further weakened by the absence of a host of first-team players this weekend.
Birmingham are the worst-hit side in the Premier League on the injury front. The loss of play-maker James McFadden in the Birmingham derby will leave McLeish feeling anxious. If the Scot's hamstring tweak proves to be serious, the Blues will be left short of ideas.
Cameron Jerome (foot) is also out, although Marcus Bent may recover from a hamstring problem.
David Murphy, Stephen Carr and Gregory Vignal may also return, although Maik Taylor and Liam Ridgewell are considerably short of fitness.
Hull have problems themselves, but Anthony Gardner, Dean Marney and Jimmy Bullard are not too far away from first-team returns. However, Ian Ashbee and Richard Garcia are out for the long-term.
Both clubs have been touted in several quarters as potential relegation candidates come the season's end and those claims will not fade for some time unless Phil Brown and Alex McLeish can mastermind a run of victories to claw their respective sides up the table.
As expected, both sides slumped to demoralising derby defeats at the weekend.
The Tigers made the short trip to Sunderland in what was the closest the Premier League will get to a north-east derby this season.
A fair first period at the Stadium of the Light was not enough from the Tigers, as Sunderland ran riot to win 4-1 and confirm that City have one of the worst defences in the top flight.
The Blues welcomed city rivals Aston Villa to St Andrew's on Sunday morning and were left heartbroken by a late Gabriel Agbonlahor header which claimed all three points for the visitors.
It was perhaps the case that Birmingham deserved a 0-0 draw from the match, but the game confirmed their status as one of the least able teams in the Premier League when it comes to scoring goals.
The Blues' ability to score will be even further weakened by the absence of a host of first-team players this weekend.
Birmingham are the worst-hit side in the Premier League on the injury front. The loss of play-maker James McFadden in the Birmingham derby will leave McLeish feeling anxious. If the Scot's hamstring tweak proves to be serious, the Blues will be left short of ideas.
Cameron Jerome (foot) is also out, although Marcus Bent may recover from a hamstring problem.
David Murphy, Stephen Carr and Gregory Vignal may also return, although Maik Taylor and Liam Ridgewell are considerably short of fitness.
Hull have problems themselves, but Anthony Gardner, Dean Marney and Jimmy Bullard are not too far away from first-team returns. However, Ian Ashbee and Richard Garcia are out for the long-term.
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