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Crystal Palace have got some way to go if they want to secure Premier League football for a seventh consecutive season - the south Londoners currently sit just two points above the drop and have lost their last two - and are staring down the barrel of a deathly December in which they will face Manchester City and Chelsea either side of Christmas.
The Eagles host Leicester this weekend and any hopes fans may have had of repeating the result of the previous meeting - a 5-0 win at the King Power Stadium - have been surely dashed as both James Tomkins and Wilfried Zaha are suspended after picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season.
Tomkins has formed a formidable partnership with Mamadou Sakho at the heart of the Palace defence but, while the centre-back's unavailability is still a hefty blow to the Selhurst Park outfit, the more pressing matter is that the talismanic Zaha's absence will render this side more or less toothless.
The former Manchester United man has been leading the line alongside Andros Townsend this season and, while neither are natural strikers, they have terrorised defences with their industry and constant movement. However, the need for a recognised goalscorer is apparent and this will surely be a priority in January for Roy Hodgson and co.
The ex-England boss favours a good old 4-4-2 and his style of play has brought the best out of the likes of Patrick van Aanholt and Max Meyer this season, but the Eagles' orthodox forwards are suffering from the passive approach while Zaha and Townsend will surely relish the opportunity to return to their comfort zones on the wing.
Zaha's suspension, albeit a huge hindrance to the team as a whole, may come as welcome news to Townsend - he will surely be deployed out wide again with Sorloth or Ayew set to come into the lineup.
The aforementioned duo are yet to score in the league, though this may not be a fault of their own as they are completely the wrong type of hitman in the system Hodgson insists on playing. Sorloth, in particular, would surely benefit from a more direct approach as, at 6 foot 4, his physical presence would cause havoc for the opposition. The Norwegian's chances are limited however, as the importance of quick, short passing in the Eagles' slow build-up doesn't suit his profile one bit.
One assumes that the former Midtjylland man or Swansea loanee Ayew will be brought in on Saturday and that, if Hodgson opts to go with the former, a more aggressive style will be adopted in order to play to his striker's strengths - if successful, this could trigger the epiphany the 71-year-old manager needs to finally get the Eagles flying.
The SE25 outfit were arguably at their best, in terms of attacking potency at least, under Sam Allardyce in the 16/17 season - Christian Benteke bagged 17 goals in all competitions in his first season in red and blue and, in the end, made survival pretty comfortable.
Since, the big Belgian's form has dropped like a stone and he has scored just three in 35 appearances. Much like Sorloth, a patient build-up plays against his strengths but, nevertheless, many have written off the 28-year-old.
A win on Saturday would be a massive result for the 2012/13 Championship play-off winners and, if success is found in going back to their roots, it could be the start of the end of their perennial relegation dogfight. Especially with activity in the January transfer window imminent, three points will surely mean Palace can only get better from here.