Brighton's visit to Tottenham on Saturday is potentially a six-pointer for Champions League football next season, with the Seagulls just four points behind fourth-placed Spurs, with two games in hand.
It is also an intriguing clash of cultures: Brighton are widely regarded as one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League, while Spurs increasingly appear to be one of the most chaotic, at least when it comes to football decisions.
Under Tony Bloom, the Seagulls have a clear identity, structure and vision, evidenced by the way they quickly moved to replace Graham Potter with Roberto De Zerbi, but Daniel Levy's Spurs are currently without a permanent manager or director of football, and still unsure what kind of club they want to be. Their own search for a successor to Antonio Conte is already being characterised by uncertainty.
On the pitch, there is also a contrast, with De Zerbi having fine-tuned a side which was already greater than the sum of its parts and playing a progressive brand of possession football which will appeal to the home fans this weekend.
Spurs, now under acting head coach Cristian Stellini, have spent most of the season actively avoiding the ball in a succession of unconvincing displays.
On the basis of this year, it would be difficult to make a case for any Spurs player aside from Harry Kane getting in Brighton's XI, a consequence of the job done by De Zerbi as well as Spurs's significant regression under Conte.
Regardless, Spurs are higher in the food chain, and De Zerbi's work since succeeding Potter in September has not gone unnoticed in north London as they continue to do due diligence on managerial candidates.
The Italian is exactly the kind of charismatic, tactically-astute, up-and-coming coach Spurs need if they are to continue their rebuild and return to challenging for honours, and if Levy is unsure about re-hiring Mauricio Pochettino, then De Zerbi might be the closest candidate to the Argentine when he was appointed in 2014.
Whether the 43-year-old would be interested in swapping the structure and stability of the south coast for the relative mayhem at Spurs remains to be seen, but on Saturday he will have the chance to audition for the job in front of Levy, experience the magnificent stadium for the first time and get a proper feel for Spurs as a club.
Stellini's Spurs showed little in the 1-1 draw at Everton on Monday to allay fears that he is essentially Conte Lite.
The mood at Spurs has been febrile for months and could quickly turn ugly in their first home game since March 11 if Brighton can claim another scalp.
Stellini has been promised the interim job until the end of the season, giving Spurs space to find the right permanent candidate, but if there is a rapid souring of the mood, it is easy to imagine Levy rethinking the strategy and scrambling to name a permanent boss sooner.
De Zerbi, at least, would not commit to anything until the end of the season as Brighton battle for a top-four finish and prepare for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.
