The dawn of 2016 brings with it a relegation six-pointer that could have major repercussions when the Premier League season comes to an end in five months' time.
Saturday sees the bottom two go head to head as Sunderland host Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light with both sides in danger of being cut adrift from safety.
Sunderland
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December always looked like being a tough month for Sunderland, but failing to pick up a single point from their five matches has left them deep in the mire.
Arsenal, Watford, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all went into those matches as favourites to come away with a win, but Sam Allardyce would have been hopeful of picking up the odd point here and there following an encouraging start to his tenure.
Three victories from his first six games in charge hinted at something of a revival from the Black Cats, but they now find themselves seven points away from safety and Allardyce has a big job on his hands to maintain his proud record of never having been relegated.
Sunderland have managed to survive by the skin of their teeth over the last few seasons, but a failure to take advantage of their upcoming fixtures could see their time in the Premier League finally come to an end.
After Villa, the Black Cats play Swansea City and Bournemouth in two of their next three games, and should their losing run continue against those close relegation rivals then a Championship return would seem inevitable.
Allardyce was left bemoaning his side's luck as they fell to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the final Premier League match of 2015, but the performance at least showed signs of encouragement that they will take into a game against a side in just as poor form as they are.
Only Villa themselves have a worse home record than Sunderland this season, both in terms of points amassed and goals scored, with Saturday's hosts having failed to find the back of the net in three of their last four games at the Stadium of Light.
They have also conceded more goals than any other team in the Premier League this season, averaging two per game from their 19 outings, so it is not surprising to see that Allardyce is looking to strengthen at the back during the January transfer window.
Lorient's Lamine Kone looks on course for the North-East, while recent reports have also suggested that Stoke City's Marc Wilson is on Sunderland's radar.
Any arrivals will be unavailable for Saturday's match, but a victory over the only team worse off than them in the division, along with some much-needed reinforcements, could be the catalyst for a survival push from Allardyce's team.
Recent form: WLLLLL
Aston Villa
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If Sunderland are in a precarious position at the halfway stage of the season, Aston Villa are in dire straits.
Still without a win since the opening day of the campaign, it is now 18 matches since the Villans picked up a league victory and it is increasingly hard to see them stopping that club-record run anytime soon.
Remi Garde may well have bitten off more than he can chew by replacing Tim Sherwood as manager, although the stats show that there has been an improvement under the Frenchman - they have picked up four points from his first eight games in charge, while Sherwood managed just one in his final eight matches at the helm.
Garde will not need telling that his tally is still nowhere near enough, though. Only two teams in Premier League history have had fewer points at the halfway stage of a season - Sunderland themselves in 2005-06 and Derby County in 2007-08. The latter of those went on to post the lowest Premier League points tally ever, while both finished bottom of the table, 23 points and 25 points from safety respectively.
The omens are not good for Villa, then, and suggestions that this could be the worst Premier League side since that Derby team eight years ago will only subside if there is a substantial turnaround in the second half of the campaign.
Garde has hinted at a busy January, ambitiously targeting Chelsea striker Loic Remy in a move that angered Guus Hiddink, but there must surely be arrivals if Villa are to breach the 11-point gap to safety and pull off a great escape.
One man who looks destined to leave Villa Park this month is Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has five goals in his last five league appearances against Sunderland and four in his last three at the Stadium of Light.
The 29-year-old is also the only player currently on Villa's books who has reached double figures in terms of goals for the club, but he has not found the back of the net since March and has never been in favour with Garde, which could see his decade-long stay at the club come to an end.
Whether losing a rare piece of experience in the Villa squad is a wise move remains to be seen, but Garde certainly needs to change something - his side have only picked up two points from 27 available on the road since the opening day.
In 2015 as a whole Villa amassed only 25 points in 38 league games - fewer than Watford have managed in half the number of matches this season - and should 2016 begin in that vein then it is hard to see any way back for the endangered Premier League ever-presents.
One point from recent matches against Newcastle United and Norwich City, both fellow members of the bottom five, makes this as close to a must-win game as you can get at this stage of the season.
Recent form: LDLDDL
Team News
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Sunderland have struggled enough defensively with their first-choice back four on the field this season, but they face a shortage of centre-backs this weekend.
Younes Kaboul is definitely sidelined with a hamstring strain, while John O'Shea (calf) and Sebastian Coates (dead leg) are doubts.
Steven Fletcher is also suffering with a knock and is rated at 50-50, while Sebastian Larsson remains injured and Jack Rodwell is expected to miss out after sustaining a hamstring injury against Liverpool.
Villa are also missing a number of key players, with Ashley Westwood and Jordan Ayew, the latter of whom is the club's top scorer this season, both suspended having picked up five yellow cards.
Jores Okore faces a late fitness test for the visitors, but Agbonlahor (back), Carlos Sanchez (hamstring) and Jordan Amavi (ACL) are definitely out.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Mannone; Jones, Coates, Brown, Van Aanholt; Cattermole, M'Vila, Watmore; Johnson, Defoe, Borini
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Hutton, Richards, Clark, Bacuna; Gueye, Grealish, Sinclair, Veretout, Richardson; Gestede
Head To Head
Villa have dominated the recent meetings between these two sides, going nine league matches without defeat against Sunderland (W4 D5).
The Villans have won each of the last three encounters at the Stadium of Light without conceding a single goal, while the Black Cats have failed to score in six of the last eight league meetings home and away.
The reverse fixture at Villa Park in August ended in a 2-2 draw, with goals from Yann M'Vila and Jeremain Lens cancelling out a Scott Sinclair brace.
We say: Sunderland 1-0 Aston Villa
A draw will not do either team any favours, but by the same token both will be afraid to lose what is a huge six-pointer at the wrong end of the table. It could be a cagey affair as a result, but home advantage could prove to be the difference and we are backing Sunderland to just about edge it.
Barney Corkhill
