Southampton will look to reduce the deficit between themselves and their relegation rivals when they host Brentford at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday.
With their tally of six points being fewer than the amount Derby (7) had at this stage in the 2007-08 campaign - a season which saw the Rams set the Premier League record for lowest points tally, accumulating a measly 11 - every Southampton stakeholder must be fearing the worst.
Ivan Juric's appointment as Russell Martin's successor has seen no upturn in results, with the Saints being beaten by West Ham and Crystal Palace in his opening two games, and relegation seems inevitable.
However, the performances have arguably been better under Juric and despite Brentford being 18 points better off than their hosts, a visit from the Bees may not be as daunting as it looks on paper.
Draw - 12/5
It could be easy to look at the 18-point gap between these sides and jot this down as an easy Brentford win, but things may not be that straightforward for Thomas Frank's men on the south coast.
Four wins on the spin against Southampton will give them some confidence, but a run of five games without a win will have the adverse effect. That sequence includes four losses, including a home defeat to Nottingham Forest which relinquished their unbeaten record at the Gtech Community Stadium, and this match being played outside of the capital will not help their case.
The Bees are typically woeful on the road, winning just three of their last 23 Premier League away games in a run which has seen them lose 17 times. They are yet to win on their travels this term, losing seven of their nine away outings, and the Saints may have enough to frustrate their visitors.
Frank will also be relying on a thin squad at St Mary's, with nine players ruled out through injury. Kristoffer Ajer, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock, Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry are among those sidelined, leaving them especially vulnerable at the back, suggesting Southampton could find some joy.
While the points are yet to arrive under Juric, there have been signs of improvement since the Croatian's appointment. The Saints endured a tough afternoon against Crystal Palace but they outshot West Ham 18-16 - managing three more efforts on target than the Hammers - in Juric's first game and, back at St Mary's, that performance could be replicated.
Both sides have their strengths, but also some major weaknesses, making the draw worth backing in Saturday's showdown.
Paul Onuachu over 2.5 shots - 8/11
Given Juric's affinity for 'death-metal football', it is no surprise that Paul Onuachu has led the line for Southampton in his first two games as manager.
The gigantic Nigerian forward offers an easy out-ball for the Saints' defenders as his height makes him a brilliant hold-up player, and he has been having some joy in the opposition box, too.
Onuachu is still searching for his first Saints goal and his finishing can often leave a lot to be desired, so taking him in the shots market rather than a scoring market could prove a safer play.
He registered a mammoth eight shots against West Ham - he really should have scored at least one in that game - and he could enjoy another game with plenty of efforts against a depleted Brentford.
Mee, Ajer and Pinnock are big losses in defence and their aerial presence would have been useful in limiting Onuachu's impact. Nathan Collins is strong in the air, but his partner, Sepp van den Berg, could be targeted by Juric.
Van den Berg has played at full-back a lot, but despite regularly facing smaller wingers, he has won just 55.4 per cent of his aerial duels - 4.6 per cent less than Pinnock, who has almost exclusively played at centre-back.
The Dutchman will have to play centrally on Saturday and Onuachu will look to pin onto him at every given opportunity after seeing Van den Berg lose nine of his last 17 aerial battles.
Expect Southampton to put plenty of crosses into the box and for Onuachu to rack up the shots again.
Keane Lewis-Potter to be booked - 3/1
Van den Berg is not the only Brentford player to have been forced into a different position of late, with winger Keane Lewis-Potter starting plenty of games at left-back recently.
The youngster has performed well in that role overall, but his lack of defensive discipline and tendency to mistime tackles have caused him to fall foul of plenty of referees this term.
No Bees player has more Premier League yellow cards than Lewis-Potter's three and, up against a tricky winger like Tyler Dibling while also having to deal with an overlapping Saints wing-back, he could pick up a fourth of the campaign at St Mary's.
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Southampton - 7/4
Draw - 12/5
Brentford - 31/20
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.