West Ham United travel to Southampton tonight for an EFL Cup showdown, against a Championship rival, seriously low on confidence.
Indeed, the Hammers have only collected one point from a possible six, after crashing back down to the Championship after relegation, with Charlton hanging on for a determined 2-1 win last time out at the London Stadium.
Already, the mood is toxic when it comes to Nuno Espirito Santo's men, with loud boos picked up at the full-time whistle from the home masses, while the passionate Nathan Jones lapped up all the applause from the Addicks away end.
The one-time Wolverhampton Wanderers boss will want a response from his downbeat camp when they travel to St. Mary's later on today, but he has some selection issues to address centrally.
West Ham's selection issues centrally
Thomas Soucek won't be able to bump up his career numbers against Southampton to ten head-to-head meetings as he will be out injured for this clash under the St. Mary's floodlights.
Having him back from injury would have been a boost, as he is Mr West Ham effectively, and he has only ever lost twice to Eckert's men, when looking over previous matchups.
Nuno could be tempted to throw in James Ward-Prowse, therefore, to see how he copes with the occasion of facing his former boyhood side, with the silky midfielder capable of a moment of magic from nothing, usually from a free-kick.
He definitely stands a chance, that's for sure, as Mohamadou Kanté was shaky during a 45-minute spell against Charlton on Saturday.
Moreover, with their Czech commander out with an injury, there aren't a overwhelming amount of options available, with one of Divin Mubama's ex-youth teammates at West Ham - who would love to lead the line for the Saints - in Lewis Orford potentially given the first-team nod.
It will be intriguing to see how many changes Nuno does make, as he won't be happy with how slowly his team have started.
On the other hand, it does sound as if Eckert is willing to ring the changes somewhat. Although, he isn't blessed with plentiful midfield options, either, due to his own set of concerns.
Southampton have the exact same issues
Ideally, Caspar Jander would be fit and ready for this mid-week showdown, but the German remains out of action, with a worry in the air he could even leave the club for pastures news in the Bundesliga, before the transfer window is out.
Southampton, with Jander unavailable, look very light on their feet from the middle of the park, with Kuryu Matsuki clearly not a competent stand-in for the RB Leipzig-linked battler, based on his unassured showing against Stoke.
It could be a game that Cameron Bragg starts, as the young Scotsman comes up against Orford for the away side, in a tussle of two promising midfield talents.
With Eckert potentially wanting to rest Flynn Downes, too, who is never out of his starting XI, the midfield ranks are an intriguing spot on the pitch to keep an eye out on.
The Southampton fans packed into St. Mary's tonight will want back-to-back wins to be secured, no matter what lineup the German decides to go with.
In the away dug-out, Nuno will also be desperate to steer the self-doubting Hammers to victory, after the draw at Turf Moor and the collapse to Charlton, meaning this could be a fascinating Cup contest to call.
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