Nottingham Forest's fixture list has lurched from one extreme to the other of late when it comes to the Championship table.
Forest ended a run of games against five of the current top six with a return of just one point, before beating then rock bottom Sheffield Wednesday and drawing with 16th placed Millwall on Saturday.
Assuming a full set of coronavirus tests come back negative, or close to totally negative, today, then the Reds are set to host a Birmingham City team who have lost their last three games to slip to 17th on Boxing Day.
On the face of it, the fixture presents Forest with a presentable chance to make it three unbeaten, but manager Chris Hughton does not believe teams in the lower reaches are vastly inferior to those at the top of the table.
Instead, Hughton says those chasing promotion better execute the fine margins, to evoke Mark Warburton, which make all the difference over the course of a season.
"I don't think the difference is so massive. Do I think the top clubs have the best players? Yes I do," he told Nottinghamshire Live.
"Watford have had an indifferent few games, but if you look at the teams which came down, they've kept the large majority of their players.
"Do I think the gulf in terms of performance is that big? No, I don't. Anyone can beat anyone.
"With the top teams as they are, they have that bit more consistency.
"It's about both ends of the pitch. The top teams score goals but they also have good ways of defending, whether that's keeping possession well or through the quality of defenders they've got."
Some Blues fans have begun to question their manager, the former Forest boss Aitor Karanka, after an inconsistent season so far.
Hughton is an ex-Birmingham manager himself, having been in charge at St Andrew's during the 2011/12 season, when they lost to Blackpool in the play-offs and also played in the Europa League.
He is backing Karanka to turn it around even though Hughton will be doing all he can to inspire a win for 20th placed Forest on Boxing Day.
"It was very enjoyable for me at Birmingham. I never mind saying it's one of the most enjoyable season's I've had," he said.
"I took over a bunch of lads who had lost a lot of players after relegation, but the club qualified for Europe after winning the League Cup the season before.
"It really made the season and the excitement of Europe. It was a wonderful year for me and I really enjoyed working there.
"As with all clubs there were really good people, good football people, there. I've got a lot of good memories.
"Aitor is a very good manager and an experienced manager. There will always be ups and downs in a competitive division.
"The landscape can look different from now until three or four weeks later. You can have a dramatic change."
