Huddersfield Town will hope to keep up their impressive recent home form and maintain a strong record against Brentford this weekend.
Chris Powell's side went four games without a win during November after a seven-match unbeaten run and last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers made it two games in succession without a goal for the Terriers.
And, having slipped to 19th in the table, the onus is on Town to get back to winning ways at the John Smith's Stadium this weekend ahead of a packed festive schedule.
Here are the three battles which could decide the meeting between the two teams as Town aim for a first league success since the emphatic 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest .
Tommy Smith v Alan Judge
This battle pits the most surprising individual atop Town's assists list against the Bees' primary playmaker, who has set up eight of the Bees' goals this season, a tally only Bournemouth's Matt Ritchie (9) can better across the whole division.
Judge is the man that makes this Brentford side tick and has been the star performer in Mark Warburton's side so far this season, and his influence has increased with every week, with his eight assists backed up by a first goal of the season in the 4-0 romp over Wolves last time out.
The Blackburn Rovers product has thrived at Griffin Park since completing a permanent move away in the summer and, while Rovers are hardly struggling without him, the decision to allow the 25-year-old a move to pastures new has most certainly been Brentford's gain.
But Smith will have designs on adding to an impressive assists count of his own, which stands at three alongside Grant Holt and Sean Scannell.
He almost pulled clear at the top of that list by teeing up Scannell in the goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday and his overlapping runs on the right flank have been a welcome addition to Town's options in the final third this season.
Mark Hudson v Andre Gray
The Town captain has not looked his usual commanding self in recent weeks, with a poor performance at Fulham and his struggles against Bolton's Craig Davies last week were indicative of Town's recent loss in form.
Hudson used his pre-match press conference duties to speak confidently about his teammates' ability to recover from the slump in form and his defiant message can be used to the Terriers' advantage as they look to rally against the Bees.
But he will have his hands full once again this weekend against the Championship's in-form striker in Gray, who netted five of his seven league goals so far last month to win the player-of-the-month gong.
The quicksilver striker will be expected to lead the line on his own once more but he has found his feet at this level and is providing Warburton's men with a consistent cutting edge in attack.
He primarily likes to hang on the shoulder of the last defender and exploit the spaces in behind, with the likes of Judge constantly on the lookout for his clever runs while also benefiting from Gray's aerial ability.
Conor Coady v Alex Pritchard
Possibly the key battle from a Town perspective, particularly if Diego Poyet is selected once more as the midfield screener in front of the back four.
The West Ham United loanee's introduction has coincided with some below-par Town displays and the Terriers currently look to be missing the hassle-and-harry style Jonathan Hogg brings to the side.
That would have come in handy against Pritchard, a gifted playmaker who Town were reportedly keen on at one stage and his evasive movement, eye for a pass and agility with the ball at his feet, allied by his diminutive frame, will cause Town plenty of problems.
Pritchard and Judge look to regularly interchange with one another and both have the creative abilities to breach Town's backline, so if Poyet will be relied on for his neat passing game, it is up to Coady to provide the combative qualities.
The former Liverpool man has been disappointing recently given the sky-high standards he set himself with early performances when he arrived in the summer but he is more than capable of rediscovering that form and coming out on top here.
