Between them, Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been locked in something of a competitive feud in the last year or so, and a number of thrilling encounters have transpired as a result — from the end of season sprint they contested at the end of last season in search of European football to that famous FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium in April.
Saturday's meeting at Molineux Stadium was no less significant, but for very different reasons. The two sides occupied the very foot of the Premier League table, both winless from their opening six matches and desperate to pocket those elusive three points.
It was Wolves that came out on top from an abject 90 minutes of action. A first half strike from Matt Doherty and an own goal from opposite number Daryl Janmaat brought light to the gloomy skies in the Black Country, at the expense of the Hornets whose early-season misery compiled yet further. Those four consecutive wins to kick off 2018/19 feel like a lifetime ago now.
"We're notoriously good starters, so it's a little bit worrying," Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley admitted. "We're all working and striving to be better footballers than what our league position reflects at the minute."
Quite apart from the result and the implications it had on their position in the league table, it was the mundane and haphazard nature of the performance that caused the most concern among the visiting support.
The problems which have haunted Watford since the beginning of the campaign are yet to show any sign of dissipating, and Cleverley believes he and his teammates must bear the weight of those detrimental defects.
"As players we just have to be accountable for our own performances, take responsibility and work as hard as we possibly can until it gets better."
Fine yet baleful margins
This was a game between two teams effectively struggling in equal measure, yet it was glaringly obvious which side was contending with the most troubles. Wolves were made to look a team comfortably clear of the bottom end of the table despite it being a game where, not for the want of trying, they certainly failed to exert the height of their capabilities.
It seemed to all go wrong for Watford. The defence unlatched more times than the two goals and six shots conceded would suggest, the forward line hardly dealt Rui Patricio an uncomfortable afternoon in front of the Wolves net, and the midfield — usually the constant positive in any Hornets display — looked disjointed and surprisingly lethargic.
"We're just not doing well enough in either box. Every time it goes into our box, they feel a little bit more dangerous than we do in theirs. We've got to work even harder than we are — we know we're good enough to compete in this league."
Could it merely be that luck is not on their side? There is a delicate case to be made in light of the numerous times VAR has not been utilised where it may have come to their advantage, and Janmaat's bizarre own goal on Saturday was a perfect manifestation of the impoverished predicament of the team.
But, for those that follow Watford up and down the country on a weekly basis and those sitting at the summit of the club's hierarchy, the shortcomings thus far are inexcusable, and chance can be seen to have a minimal role if any whatsoever
"Maybe last season a few of the level games went more in our favour than they are at the minute, but you just have to stick together in these tough times."
Concerns crescendoing
The new Premier League season has clocked up seven weekends already. As things stand, Watford can only gaze enviously at the fortunes of supposed competitive rivals such as Leicester City and AFC Bournemouth who have enjoyed prosperous starts and, with each passing game, the prospect of eventually making up that lost ground diminishes in realism.
Cleverley has urged the fans to keep faith in the team, and insists the squad is committed to a process of self-betterment until the rut is cleared.
"Stick with us," the midfielder pleaded. "It's not a work rate issue. Maybe at times there's been a lack of quality and maybe a lack of intensity defensively but stick with us, we'll keep putting the work in and we're working for our performances to improve."
Nevertheless, the 30-year old showed no tendency to deny the severity of the current situation, and is well aware it will be a gruelling struggle to salvage something of a respectable season from here.
Of course, Watford can seek solace from the fact that returning head coach Quique Sánchez Flores and significant summer signings Danny Welbeck and Ismaïla Sarr are yet to make their marks, but not from much else.
"We're a team with two points out of seven games, low on confidence — it's not clicked. The new signings have started now and maybe they need a little bit of time to bed in, but you've just got to be accountable for yourself and that's what I'm going to do until we're out of this little lull."
Up next
Time is of essence in anything, not least in football, where so much has been known to alter in short windows. One month from now, the thought of Watford having cleared the relegation zone is only tentative because of their current form — one of the most recurrently changeable aspects of the beautiful game.
The Hornets next face Sheffield United, fresh from promotion from the Championship and taking to their new surroundings excellently. However, if it really is a relegation dogfight that Watford are preparing for, results against outfits like the Blades will be valuable indicators of just where they can expect to find themselves come the middle of May.
A man of few excuses, Cleverley does assert that the recent set of matches would have been challenging enough without the added burden of poor form, and he also knows exactly how crucial victory at Vicarage Road could be on the coming weekend.
"We've been poor in the last couple of games," he conceded. "But Arsenal, Manchester City away, Wolves away are not the easiest three fixtures to come into and, with no disrespect to Sheffield United because they're a really competitive side, we have to be really at it next weekend.
"We know that — we've been in the game long enough to know that next Saturday is a huge game."