Manchester United's trip to Chelsea on Sunday represents another opportunity for the woebegone English champions to prove that they still deserve to be considered among the Premier League's leading lights.
With six defeats to their name already this season and leaders Arsenal 11 points above them, United's title defence seems all but over and they face a battle just to secure Champions League qualification.
David Moyes's men trailed fourth-place Liverpool by five points ahead of the weekend and another setback at Stamford Bridge would further compromise their chances of fulfilling the minimum requirement of a top-four finish.
Their form against supposed title rivals does not augur well, as they have amassed only five points from a possible 21 in the seven games that they have played against the six teams above them in the table.
Injuries to strike pair Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie have only compounded matters, but for all United's misfortune, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes it is still too soon to write them off.
"We don't play a team that is 11 points behind the leaders. We play the champions, we play against Manchester United," Mourinho said.
"This is the way I feel. I've been too long in the game, I've played dozens and dozens of derbies and classic matches. This is what experience says.
"On many occasions the team that looks to be in the most difficult situation is the team that appears stronger in that match. That's why I view this game as especially dangerous. I've not written United off."
United can at least draw solace from a run of five wins in six league games, but Chelsea's recent form has been even more impressive.
They have climbed to third place in the table, nine points above United, by winning eight of their last 10 matches and will be bidding for a fifth consecutive victory on Sunday.
The teams played out a terse 0-0 at Old Trafford when they last met in August, but Moyes says it is hard to draw conclusions from that encounter.
"That was a difficult game for both of us that probably came a bit too early in the season," said the United manager.
"We know this is going to be hard because Chelsea are very strong at home. As you would expect, they have made a strong start to the season.
"We are a little bit disappointed at not being in closer contention with the teams at the top, but we are hoping that between now and the end of the season we can do that.
"We want to hang in there and if we could win this game it would make people think we are not that far away."
Victory for United would certainly have a transformative effect on perceptions of Moyes's side -- Mourinho has never lost a home league game with Chelsea and Moyes has never come out on top against the Portuguese.
In the continued absence of Rooney and Van Persie, United will once again turn to Danny Welbeck, who has scored six goals in his last six games, to lead the line.
Chelsea hope that Frank Lampard will recover from a calf injury in time for Sunday's game but right-back Branislav Ivanovic only returned to training on Friday following a knee problem and is unlikely to feature.
Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic could make his second Chelsea debut, having returned to the club from Benfica this week, but Mourinho has already confirmed that he will not start the game.
"The coach has to decide, but I am ready," said the 25-year-old.
"I'm in training, I played (for Benfica) on Sunday against Porto, so I don't have any problems."
United made three visits to Stamford Bridge last season, winning 3-2 in the league in September but going down 5-4 in the League Cup fourth round and 1-0 in an FA Cup quarter-final replay.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood has said he will have no qualms about selling players during the transfer window as he targets the goal of a top four finish in the Premier League.
The north London club are currently two points adrift of the Champions League places ahead of their trip to struggling Swansea this weekend.
An improved run of four wins and a draw in the last five Premier League matches has raised hopes Sherwood has got Spurs' season back on track after he was promoted from within following the decision to sack former manager Andre Villas-Boas last month.
The change in the dug-out has led to a change in personnel on the pitch and a number of sidelined players including Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli and Lewis Holtby have been linked with moves away from the club.
And Sherwood accepted there could be departures before the end of the January transfer window.
"As long as they're the players I don't want to take us forward, then I'm happy (to sell them)," he said.
"We've had discussions, but it's sometimes a case of supply and demand. We've got fantastic players here at the club and if we were to lose no one I wouldn't be shedding any tears.
"But you can only go with a certain amount of players and the pressure's on because it's a World Cup year for a lot of these players. It's important they're playing."
Swansea's recent run of form -- they are without a win in seven league games -- means Tottenham are expected to return from south Wales with three points on Sunday.
"Our hopes for the season are still alive because we're getting points and we are closer to the top four, so we are still in a good way," said Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
"It's always difficult to play against Swansea and we know they're capable of getting some good results against big teams.
"They play some really good football and if we are not focused on the game and if we don't play at 100 percent, it will be very difficult."
Gylfi Sigurdsson could return to face his former club but centre-back duo Jan Vertonghen and Younes Kaboul are still short of match fitness.
Swansea's plight -- they were just three points above the relegation zone before this weekend's fixtures -- has given growing cause for concern and manager Michael Laudrup said the next seven games would be crucial in determining the course of their season.
"It is so tight from our point of view and it depends on what we do in the next seven league games," Denmark great Laudrup said.
"In the next month-and-a-half, from the game on Sunday until the Crystal Palace game in March, we have four games at home and lots of games against opponents who are also in the bottom half of the table.
"This next month-and-a half is crucial to the rest of the season. If we come out of it well, things will be looking very good, if not we will have to admit we will be in a relegation battle for the rest of the season."
Laudrup's efforts to strengthen his squad have been hampered by confusion over whether the club could recall Ki Sung-yeung from the South Korean midfielder's loan spell at relegation-threatened Sunderland.
The manager has found his squad stretched in midfield following injuries to Jose Canas and Jonathan De Guzman.
"I looked into the possibility of bringing Ki back, but the loan agreement said it should have been done by the end of December, so it's not a possibility," Laudrup explained.
"The only way we can change that is if Ki and both clubs all agree to end the loan, but of course Sunderland are not going to do that."
