After the expected defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and other results at the bottom of the Premier League, the next two home games take on even greater significance for Huddersfield Town.
Swansea City’s home record since Carlos Carvalhal took charge is simply brilliant.
However, they have won only one in 14 away games – obviously going back before Carvalhal’s appointment – and that’s a sequence to give Town fans hope this is a match their team can win.
I always look at teams’ form, not necessarily against everybody but, most closely, against teams of similar ability.
Take out the top five, who we have all played at the John Smith’s Stadium, and Town have lost just one game in nine against the rest of the division.
I remember a few weeks ago doing some analysis and found that Brighton had lost only four games in 19 against teams outside the top six.
These are the ‘biggies’, the matches where every fan realises the importance – and Swansea City and Crystal Palace at home fall into that category for Town.
The noise will be decibels louder than it’s been in recent weeks – if that is possible! – and the intensity I believe the Town fans create will hopefully be something the players feed off to go and take the points.
A win would be nice, but the overriding mantra has to be “just don’t lose”.
I am really looking forward to coming to the John Smith’s to watch the Swansea match with my good friend (and former Town colleague) Graham Cooper as guests of the club.
It would be remiss of me not to mention at this stage the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, because I know the horse-racing fraternity among Town fans and, indeed, across the country, are gearing up for next week’s action.
It’s probably my favourite four days of the year.
I do realise how lucky I am at Sky Bet, having a job that takes me somewhere like Cheltenham for work.
It’s the annual Olympics of National Hunt racing, with 70,000 people packing in, most of them topped up with Guinness and champagne (or both!) and betting slips falling out of every pocket.
The Festival is fun, frantic and, hopefully, this year financially beneficial.
As for my tips, I have two short-priced bankers to start with.
Firstly, Samcro in the Ballymore, which is the first race on Wednesday, and then Laurina in the mares’ novice hurdle on Thursday.
The weather could play a huge part at Cheltenham this year as I’ve been going for 16 years and can’t remember a Festival run on heavy ground.
It changes completely the challenge for every horse – the classic speed horses are slowed right down, while the grinders and dour stayers come into their own.
If it is heavy during the week, then one of my prime bets is Native River in the Gold Cup.
He finished third in the big race last year after winning the Welsh National and the Hennessy.
That was an after-thought, whereas this year the Gold Cup has been the plan all season.
The heavier the going, the better for Native River.
I always like to cheer on the northern horses, too, and Definitely Red runs in the Gold Cup for Malton-based Brian Ellison.
Huddersfield Town latest news
Trainer Jedd O’Keefe, working out of Middleham, has Sam Spinner in the stayers’ race on Thursday.
If he was trained by any other person he would be 2/1 favourite because the form is exceptional, but you can still get 5/1 or even 6/1 about him, which is a great each-way bet.
