Wycombe and Brighton will renew acquaintances on Monday afternoon with both teams looking to end the year - and indeed the decade - on a high note, but more importantly, pick up much-needed points to climb the League One table.
The encounter at Adams Park will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season after they were paired together in the FA Cup and also clashed in the league in September, with the Seagulls winning two of the three battles so far.
However, Monday's affair could be the most important yet as Gary Waddock's men look to bounce back from the disappointment of the Boxing Day defeat at Yeovil, and leapfrog Gus Poyet's side in what lesser pundits might describe a "classic six-pointer".
Brighton currently sit 21st in the division with 21 points from 23 games and a goal difference of -16, whilst Wanderers occupy 23rd place with 18 points from the same number of matches, and a slightly inferior goal difference of -18.
But the final game of the noughties could result in a turnaround in the bottom four and leave either side with a brighter outlook going into the New Year if they are able to claim all three points from the game.
Albion come into the game on the back of a 0-0 draw at home to fellow strugglers Leyton Orient on Boxing Day, in a match which saw Andrew Crofts and Liam Dickinson both collect suspensions which rule them out of the trip to HP12.
Prior to that fixture, the Seagulls had lost five of their previous six matches under new manager Gus Poyet, with only a win at Southampton and the cup victory over the Blues giving Albion fans anything to cheer since the Uruguayan's arrival.
But both sides will realise the importance of this fixture as the table begins to take on more significance going into the second half of the campaign, and the form guide could count for little as they look to collect three vital points against a key rival in the pursuit for survival.
View from the dugout
Gary Waddock, speaking to wwfc.com on Saturday:"It's a big game for us - we must prepare for that and be positive for Monday. I've told the players that if we turn up nervous and worried, that will be unacceptable. Everyone seems to have written us off apart from ourselves, but we know what we have to do."
Gus Poyet, speaking to seagulls.co.uk on Saturday:
"Today we got a point and we didn't expect that because we wanted three. So because we lost two points today we have to make sure we get all three on Monday. We have to be 100 percent in every single department."
Team news
Wycombe: John Akinde sits out the second of his three-match suspension while Stuart Beavon is expected to shrug off the knock he received at Yeovil on Saturday. Lewis Montrose and Leon Johnson remain absent through injury, while 16-year-old Kadeem Harris will be hoping for another outing after making his debut at Huish Park.
Brighton: Andrew Crofts and Liam Dickinson miss out through suspension but Gary Dicker returns from a ban of his own and should take Crofts' place in midfield. Glenn Murray, who scored twice at Adams Park in the FA Cup tie in November, should come in up-front.
Officials
Referee: Mr S COOK
Assistant: Mr C POWELL
Assistant: Mr O SALIY
Fourth Official: Mr J BUSBY
Mr Cook brandished three red cards in his last Albion fixture - the 4-2 defeat to Stockport in August - but had a much less eventful time in charge of his previous Wanderers match, showing just one yellow card in the 1-0 loss at Exeter last season.
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Listen at home
Chairboys Player will, as always, be providing live commentary from the League One clash with Ben Campbell and Matt Cecil reporting from Adams Park throughout the game. To sign up click
here.
You can also receive text updates straight to your mobile phone by sending CLUB WYCW GOLD to 88442 and you'll receive team news, goal updates and scores around the division at a cost of 25p per message. To cancel the service at any time, just send STOP to the same number.
BBC Three Counties Radio (98FM) will be providing a pre-match, half-time and full-time report from the game and finally, don't forget to check
wwfc.com after the game for a full report and reaction from the Wycombe camp.
