Arsenal and Liverpool will go into their match at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday looking back up the table rather than down after victories in their last league outings.
Arsenal were back to their best in thrashing West Ham United 5-1, while Liverpool's fluid 5-0 demolition of Norwich City at Anfield left home fans wondering why they can't play like that every week.
Brendan Rodgers' side then lost at Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup, but he will no doubt be reminding his players of the highs they reached against the Canaries, not the lows of Boundary Park, as they head to north London for a crucial game in the two sides' respective bids for European qualification.
On paper, Arsenal look the favourites. They may have lost two of their last five matches, but those were against Manchester City and Chelsea, and their home form appears solid enough in the face of a Liverpool side that has struggled on the road this campaign.
Arsene Wenger's men have six wins and three defeats from 11 games at the Emirates, while Liverpool have won only three times away from Anfield and have leaked as many goals as they have scored - 18.
Where the visitors will take encouragement, though, is that there are goals to be had for away teams at the Emirates, with only one side in the top 15 having conceded more at home than Arsenal's total of 16.
Add in Arsenal's forwards seemingly reaching peak form and Luis Suarez being joined by Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool, and a high-scoring game could well be in the offing.
Arsenal will welcome back captain Thomas Vermaelen after he missed the win over Brighton with an ankle injury picked up against West Ham United.
Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla are all also poised to return after being rested for the FA Cup, but Mikel Arteta (calf) and Francis Coquelin (hamstring) are both still injured.
Gervinho is also unavailable as he is at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Lukasz Fabianski remains dogged by a foot problem.
Liverpool will be boosted by the return of three key men in their back line: Jose Reina, Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson.
Enrique has been out for a month with a hamstring tear, Reina missed two games with face and thigh injuries, and Johnson returns after being ruled out of the FA Cup defeat against Oldham Athletic with a hamstring problem.
Liverpool boss Rodgers is likely to revert to a more familiar line-up after heavily criticizing his young players for their performance at Boundary Park on Sunday.
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