One of these sides might finish the match atop the Championship standings when Sunderland hosts Leeds United on Friday night.
The Black Cats will still hold that spot, but the visitors to the Stadium of Light will defeat them by two goals.
After a brilliant start to the second-tier campaign, Sunderland has lost its previous two away games. There are indications that the wheels may be starting to come off.
However, Regis Le Bris' team have been brilliant in front of their home supporters, recording four successive victories without allowing a single goal.
The most recent of those occurred on Tuesday night as Sunderland defeated Derby County 2-0, goals coming from Wilson Isidor and Jobe Bellingham just before halftime.
With 16 goals, they lead the division in scoring, but no one has scored more than Romaine Mundle's three, with ten different players contributing in total.
Le Bris will be comforted by the amount of players contributing to efforts in the final third, even though he might like to have a dominant number nine in his lineup.
Leeds hasn't looked good in 2024–25, despite the fact that Burnley has been their only opponent in the last eight games.
They have won four of their eight games with clean sheets, but their three draws have dropped them to fourth place in the standings.
On Tuesday, Daniel Farke's team overcame a late deficit to split the spoils at his old club, with Leeds and Norwich City drawing 1-1.
Although Joel Piroe, Leeds' top scorer, has only scored three goals in his previous six games, the Yorkshire giants appear to be gelling as a team based on their recent 13-point run.
Because of Sunderland's strong defense, high-scoring games have not happened often at this location in 2024. Less than three goals have been scored in eight of the Black Cats' previous ten home Championship games, and they have kept six clean sheets in that time.
Leeds, who have won four of their past six league games and just lost one, are in excellent form heading into their trip to the Stadium of Light.
On the road, the Lilywhites remain unblemished this season with two wins and two draws gathered from four games on their travels, including a 1:1 against Norwich on Tuesday. In all four games, there were fewer than 2.5 goals scored, while Daniel Farke's team only let up one goal during those contests.
