Liverpool will meet Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield later today.
It is a match that the Reds are expected to win given their strength and status as title challengers in comparison to their opponents, but the two clubs are closer than many think in one key respect.
The pair aren't necessarily comparable in terms of location, player quality or trophies - but they have adopted fairly similar approaches to recruitment over the past decade.
Under Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool have established a world-renowned analytics department. Ian Graham is the club's Director of Research, and Michael Edwards is Sporting Director, both of whom have a background in numbers.
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Data is integral to the decision-making process at Anfield, with players such as Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Naby Keita signed on the back of how they profiled according to the analytics wing of the club's scouting operations.
Peter Moore, Liverpool's former CEO, said the Reds 'merge data with experienced eyes' when describing how the club sign players, before claiming that no other club in England use data like Liverpool do.
While that much could be true, Brighton certainly apply interesting ideas when chasing players.
Tony Bloom is the owner of the south coast club, and he also owns Starlizard, a company described as a betting consultancy which uses a combination of cutting-edge research and analytical thought, according to their website.
Bloom, much like Graham and Edwards, is very much a numbers man, and since the Seagulls achieved promotion to England's top-flight, Brighton have upped the risk when it comes to buying players with obscure locations explored as a means of finding hidden gems.
Rather than solely picking up players who have already represented a whole host of Premier League sides during their careers, they have signed players from clubs such as Lech Poznań, Lausanne-Sport, Independiente, Sundowns, Argentinos Juniors and Legia Warsaw in recent times; Enock Mwepu and Kaoru Mitoma joined over the summer from Red Bull Salzburg and Kawasaki Frontale, for example.
Brighton make mistakes in the market and not all of their players succeed, but they are willing to recruit by using their extensive network rather than acquiring players who are deemed as safe and familiar with English shores.
Liverpool and Brighton are different, as is their use of numbers, but both are prospering in England's top-flight as a consequence of their willingness to think outside the box and challenge conventional wisdom.
The two clubs have paved their own recruitment paths in recent years rather than following others in the division, and they are reaping the rewards.
