The challenge facing Nottingham Forest against Sheffield Wednesday at The City Ground on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) is clear.
The Reds are aiming to bounce back at the first attempt after suffering their first defeat in 20 Championship outings.
That setback came, of course, at the hands of Derby in a typically feisty encounter at Pride Park last Saturday.
Billy Davies' men are now in third spot in the Championship table but will be gunning for a seventh successive home league win.
They will, however, find themselves up a against a Wednesday side who have been in resurgent form since Alan Irvine took over as manager.
Irvine succeeded former Forest defender Brian Laws at the Hillsborough helm last month and has guided his new club to four wins from five Championship outings - a run of form that has eased their relegation worries.
Ironically, Davies and Irvine have both been nominated for the Coca-Cola Manager of the Month award for January. The winner will be announced on Saturday afternoon.
Team news
Billy Davies may be tempted to make changes to his side following the Pride Park defeat.
Nathan Tyson, who was left out of the travelling party last weekend, will return to the squad and Davies has no fresh injury concerns.
Wednesday will be without right back Lewis Buxton, who is facing four weeks out with a hamstring problem. His place is likely to go to US international Frankie Simek.
Experienced striker Francis Jeffers has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury but Leon Clarke should return to the squad after an injury lay-off.
Their key man
Striker Luke Varney fired Wednesday to victory over Plymouth last weekend - and then set his sights on a permanent move to Hillsborough.
He is currently on loan from Derby until the end of the season but would love to secure a long-term stay in the Steel City.
Varney, who is actually in his third loan spell with Wednesday, took his goal tally for the season to six with both goals in the 2-1 win over Plymouth.
What the record books say
Wednesday have had the upper hand over Forest down the years - with 55 all-time victories, compared to 48 for The Reds.
It was honours even last season with both clubs recording Championship wins on their own territory.
And there was nothing to separate them when they met at Hillsborough in September.
The game finished 1-1, despite Forest taking an early initiative. There were just two minutes on the clock when Dexter Blackstock headed home from Paul Anderson's pin-point cross from the left.
Blackstock should have doubled his tally 15 minutes later. Anderson was again the instigator and when he pulled the ball back across the face of goal, the striker stabbed his shot wide of the target.
Wednesday hauled themselves level six minutes before the break, albeit with a stroke of good fortune as Marcus Tudgay's shot deflected off Wes Morgan and wrong-footed Lee Camp.
Boosted by their equaliser, Wednesday went in search of a second goal on the stroke of half-time but Jermaine Johnson fired wide from a promising position.
In the second half, Anderson produced another marauding run down the left that resulted in him sending over a low cross that the on-rushing David McGoldrick narrowly failed to connect with.
Anderson also tried his luck with a shot from distance that forced Lee Grant to make a smart save. From the resultant corner Wes Morgan went close with a header.
Wednesday: Grant, Buxton, Purse, Richard Wood (Beevers 75),Spurr, Johnson, Miller (McAllister 69), Potter, Gray, Varney,Tudgay (Sodje 68). Subs not used: O'Donnell, Hinds, Esajas, Clarke.
Forest: Camp, Gunter, Morgan, Chambers, Lynch,Garner (McCleary 46), Cohen, McKenna, Anderson,McGoldrick (Adebola 76), Blackstock (McGugan 89). Subs not used: Smith, Wilson, Earnshaw, Moussi.
Click here to watch the highlights of this game on Forest Player.
Where they currently stand:
Forest - 3rd
Wednesday - 19th
Where they finished last season:
Forest - 19th
Wednesday -12th
