Sunderland welcome Bournemouth to the North East on Saturday hoping to drag the visitors further into a relegation battle.
The two sides come into this clash in different veins of form but will share the common aim of victory tomorrow afternoon.
The facts and figures
Sunderland's good league form came to an abrupt end at the weekend with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. However, some stats point towards them having a strong chance this weekend.
Jermain Defoe has scored more goals in 2016 than any other player in the Premier League, after netting five against Aston Villa and Swansea City. To add to this, Adam Johnson has six assists in 16 games so far this term.
Sunderland have only been beaten by this weekend's opponents once in a competitive fixture too, despite the two teams playing each other seven times. However, that defeat came earlier this season in a 2-0 loss.
Since then, they have changed managers though and the Black Cats have won three of their six home games under Sam Allardyce.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, have scored eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games this season, which is a league high. In contrast, Sunderland have conceded seven in the opening 15 minutes of league matches, which is also a league high.
What a win means
Sunderland know that a win is vital this weekend after Newcastle United picked up three points last week. If results go against them on Saturday, Allardyce's men could potentially be six points from safety and even three points off the bottom. However, they would only be three points away from Bournemouth if they gain all three points.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth will be looking to go six points clear of the drop with a win, which will take some pressure off before big games against Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
Kirchoff nightmare
All football fans want their new signings to have a debut to remember, and new Sunderland addition Jan Kirchhoff certainly had a memorable one. Although, maybe not for the right reasons.
Sunderland were playing well against Spurs last week and kept their attacking threats at bay until the 42nd minute, but it all fell apart in the second half. Former Bayern Munich defender Kirchhoff came off the bench on the hour mark and it didn't take him long to get involved.
Kirchoff put in a lacklustre block as Christian Eriksen scored from long range, before not tracking back after being dispossessed on the half way line. To make matters worse, the German then committed a poor foul in the penalty area to allow Harry Kane to score from the spot.
Allardyce will be hoping the defender can find his feet quickly, but it is unlikely that he will throw him in the deep end again this weekend.