Sunderland head coach Lee Johnson feels Bristol Rovers have the right man in Joey Barton to help them battle against relegation from League One.
Johnson takes his Black Cats side to the Memorial Stadium this weekend with the Wearsiders looking to break into the automatic promotion places.
It's a very different story for the Gas, who are battling against relegation to League Two, and suffered a 1-0 setback to Swindon Town on Tuesday night.
Johnson was at that game, and is familiar with the Bristol scene after spending almost a decade at rivals Bristol City as both a player and a manager,.
Sunderland have never got the better of Barton during his stint at Fleetwood Town manager, but while Johnson is looking to end that run on Saturday, he feels Rovers have a 'winner' in their ranks.
"It's another one of these Sunderland hoodoos, so it's another one we have to try and banish," he said in Friday's media briefing.
"Joey has gone to Bristol Rovers, he's brave, it's a good club - obviously I know a lot about it from being in and around the area for so long.
"They are fighting for their lives, and there's no better person to have at the helm when they are fighting for their lives because Joey has been a winner all his career."
Having watched the 1-0 defeat to Swindon, Johnson feels he knows what to expect this weekend and, despite Rovers' lowly league position, has warned his players they will need to be at their best if they are to return to the North East with the three points.
"I was at the game on Tuesday night," he added. "It was a scrappy but committed affair from both teams, and Bristol Rovers were really unlucky because they should have had the first goal - it was never offside - but Swindon then came back into it and scored, and then they defended for their lives.
"They have different threats. Their left wingback is their top scorer, the two boys up top are a handful and we are going to have to be at our best like against every team in this division."
Despite being associated with the red half of Bristol, Johnson has plenty of respect for the 'Gas' and has likened the rivalry to that of Sunderland and Newcastle in the North East.
"It's an intense derby," he said. "It's a passionate football city, it's a great city, and two passionate teams.
I was on the red side of the city for nearly ten years - more as player and manager - and naturally you build up those rivalries.
"Now I'm at Sunderland, though, so it is not about me tomorrow. From my point of view, though, there's a lot of respect because there are people at Bristol Rovers that I know very well, that work in the backroom team, and they are great people.
"I think the owner at Bristol Rovers is a fantastic man as well. "When you're in the city, there's that rivalry just as there is between Sunderland and Newcastle, but there is also a mutual respect."
