Southampton face Preston North End later on today as the Saints prepare for another long international break after the 3pm showdown has finished.
Indeed, after today's match, Tonda Eckert's men next play in the Championship on the 21st of November, when Derby County come to St. Mary's.
The aim will be simple for the promotion chasers on their travels to Deepdale, therefore, with Eckert demanding a victory come the full-time whistle, when speaking after the West Bromwich Albion draw.
The South Coast side did win on their last visit to Lancashire to face the Lilywhites, with a 3-1 win comfortably secured right at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Amazingly, though, if they were to pick up back-to-back victories, they would be correcting a slice of unwanted history, which has stood for nearly 100 years...
The slice of unwanted history the Saints will be looking to correct
According to BBC Sport, who have compiled a stat pack of the upcoming fixture, if Eckert and Co. were to win a second successive away game at Preston in the Championship, this would be the first time two league victories had been sealed at Deepdale by the Saints since the 1928/29 season.
This is a remarkable stat, with the South Coast side only managing a 2-2 draw when facing Preston away during the 2023/24 season, which ended in the ecstasy of promotion being clinched under Russell Martin.
They haven't lost an away encounter on Preston's home soil since 2007, however, despite this unwanted record being in play, with that disastrous match seeing the Saints lose 5-1, as Patrick Agyemang scored a late brace for the rampant hosts, who were managed by Paul Simpson at the time.
Eckert will hope he's the manager that manages to lift this strange hoodoo, with the promotion hopefuls the clear favourites for the clash later today, as Graham Alexander's hosts are rock bottom of the division.
Saints are the clear favourites to win
Preston have only won league match all season long, even with Alexander's arrival onto the scene.
While the Lilywhites already look resigned to their relegation fate, Southampton are eyeing up a surge into the automatic promotion spots in the league.
If you were a betting man, you would be firmly backing the Saints, with EFL pundit Don Goodman saying last month, rather damningly, that Preston are "too easy to play against."
If the Saints arrive and play to their very best, they should be able to comfortably wipe the floor with their bottom-of-the-table opponents, with a weighty eight wins next to their name, coupled with an eye-catching 29 goals being scored.
There is also the added boost that Leo Scienza might well feature at Deepdale later today, with the Brazilian winger - who scored seven times last season in the Championship - missing out at the last minute against West Brom through injury.
Alexander will be keeping his fingers crossed that this near 100-year curse stays around for a little bit longer, with Callum Lang ready to shock the Saints for Preston, as an ex-Portsmouth player.
Eckert and Co. won't be paying much attention to any curses, as they should be able to let their football do the talking, with one final win before the international break interferes hopefully in their grasp come the full-time whistle.
