The Premier League relegation battle is heating up. Just five points separate bottom-placed Sunderland and Middlesbrough in 15th.
The Black Cats share space in the relegation zone with Sam Allardyce's Crystal Palace and the two teams do battle at Selhurst Park on Saturday in a clash that could go a long way to deciding final standings come the end of May.
The first meeting between the two sides this season was a thrilling match at The Stadium of Light. Sunderland were 2-0 up with just half an hour to go before the Eagles made a storming comeback to nick the three points in stoppage time thanks to a Christian Benteke effort.
David Moyes' side will be out for revenge for that demoralising loss and bring confidence into the game having held high flying Tottenham Hotspur to a 0-0 draw midweek. Palace, meanwhile, also picked up a good result this week, going to Bournemouth on Tuesday and winning 2-0.
It all sets up a mouth-watering encounter. These are the THREE key battles that will decide this fixture...
Damien Delaney vs. Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe is having a wonderful season and if not for him, Sunderland would likely be stranded at the bottom of the Premier League table. The striker has scored 12 goals and assisted twice so far this term, meaning he's directly contributed to a massive 70% of the Black Cats' goals.
Delaney, on the other hand, is having a less pleasing season. The 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Tuesday was only his third clean sheet of the campaign and although Palace have conceded less goals than the teams around them, their defence is still a problem area.
Saturday gives Defoe the platform to get back to scoring ways then. He's failed to net in his last three appearances and will be desperate to stick one away - but up against Delaney and co., he'll fancy his chances.
Luka Milivojevic vs. Jack Rodwell
An unexpected deadline day signing from Olympiakos, Luka Milivojevic could be in line to make his first start for the Eagles on Saturday. The Serbian international should be match fit and ready to go, having been a regular starter for the Greek club before leaving on Tuesday.
His first test will likely be going up against Sunderland's Jack Rodwell in a midfield battle that will shape the outcome of the match.
Despite an inconsistent season, Rodwell put in an excellent shift on Wednesday night against Spurs' excellent midfield of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama and will be hoping to build on that with another strong display at Selhurst Park.
In Milivojevic, he'll find an experienced and combative midfielder who is liable to pop up with a goal; the Serbian claimed three in his last ten matches for his former club.
It's an intriguing, new match-up and Palace fans will be eager to see if their new man has what it takes to keep them in the Premier League.
Patrick van Aanholt vs. Billy Jones
It will be a strange day for Patrick van Aanholt, who made an appearance for Sunderland just two weeks ago. The left-back put in a solid display on his debut away to Bournemouth but will be hoping to further impress his new home fans on Saturday.
The Dutch defender has been stoking the fire in anticipation of this match claiming that his new side are better than his old one.
Quoted by The Daily Star, he said:
"I think we have a better team here at Palace than we did last year – not to be disrespectful to the Sunderland players. Individually we are better, we have a lot of good players here."
The Black Cats player hoping to show him up at the weekend will likely be right wing-back Billy Jones, one of Sunderland's top performers against Spurs on Wednesday. The wide man appears to be enjoying Moyes' 3-5-2 system and has the chance to prove to his former teammate that Sunderland's quality should not be discounted so easily.