Southampton make the long journey north to face Leeds United in their final game of the regular Championship season on Saturday.
When the fixture list was announced ahead of the campaign this was a fixture that had fans licking their lips as they relished a final day clash which was likely to have huge stakes.
As it has worked out that is the case, but only for one of the sides.
Leeds could be promoted come full-time of the meeting with Southampton, but only off they win and Ipswich Town lose at home to Huddersfield Town side who are already relegated.
For the Saints, their fate is the play-offs after a disappointing run of three consecutive defeats.
There is a real possibility that both sides could meet in the play-off final should they successfully negotiate their respective quarter-finals.
This complicates things for Southampton manager Russell Martin, who has to make a decision on how to approach this game with a number of factors in mind.
Russell Martin should not play best team v Leeds
Martin has never been in the play-offs before as a manager so he is learning on the job at Southampton.
After defeat at Cardiff City all but ended the Saints’ hopes of automatic promotion, Martin decided not to risk the fitness of key man Flynn Downes against Leicester City.
This showed realism from Martin, as a win at The Foxes could have allowed Southampton to maintain hope of automatic promotion but at the risk of Downes missing the play-offs if he played and they were not successful.
As it was, Downes did not play and Southampton were pumped 5-0.
This, coupled with the play-offs being guaranteed, led to Martin ringing the changes against Stoke City last time out.
Southampton’s fringe players struggled to take their chance in the 1-0 defeat, with Samuel Edozie arguably the only player that seized the opportunity.
The fact it is three defeats in a row and they are playing one of the best sides in the league make it difficult for Martin, but he cannot afford to risk the fitness of any of his key men ahead of the play-offs against Leeds.
Instead, he should view this game as another opportunity for the players on the periphery to impress ahead of the play-offs and hope for a reaction from those individuals.
Given the quality of the opposition this comes with risk, as another thrashing like the one suffered at Leicester could be really damaging lately.
However, this would not be anywhere near as impactful as losing a vital player through injury ahead of the play-offs.
Martin plays down importance of form in play-offs
Whilst Martin has not managed a team in the play-offs in his short career in the dugout so far, he has played in the season-defining affair.
Martin captained the Norwich City side who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2015, beating Middlesbrough 2-0 with former Saint Nathan Redmond on the scoresheet.
Martin spoke this week about the importance of form going into the post-season games, with concerns growing amongst the fanbase over the slide the club seem to be on.
Martin said: “I’m not sure how relevant it is. People talk about momentum and all that stuff, honestly, I’ve been involved in it as a player, it’s different.
“It’s a two-game cup competition and then, to get to Wembley, that’s a complete one-off tie.
The 38-year-old did accept the side’s current run is not ideal preparation, but insisted: “Of course, you want to go into the playoffs with a nice feeling but I think ultimately it’s about who is the bravest team on the day.”
The ideal scenario is that Southampton come through the final game of the season against Leeds unscathed and playing the fringe players once more gives them the best chance of doing just that.