Newcomers Hull City have taken the Premier League by storm this season after victories over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur lifted them to an impressive third place in the standings.
Their run is based on strong performances away from their KC Stadium and manager Phil Brown will be keen to improve their home record of only one win and a draw when they host West Ham tomorrow.
This match will pit two young managers, Brown and Gianfranco Zola, against each other.
Brown is the latest recipient of the Manager of the Month accolade and this prize, on occasions, has been a bad omen for the winner. Last month, after Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate was presented with the award, his side went on a run of four defeats in league and cup. The Boro turned the corner in their last match when they won at Wigan.
Soon after Zola took over at West Ham came the announcement that the London club must pay a hefty compensation sum to Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez affair.
The latest news is that the Hammers could face a £50 million claim for damages from Sheffield United. Meanwhile, Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who is alleged to have lost an estimated £230 million after his assets slumped in value due to the latest monetary crisis, is keen to sell the club at a knockdown price.
Riverside Stadium. Clubs like Chelsea, who had several international players on duty in the World Cup qualifiers, were keeping their fingers crossed that their stars had not suffered serious injuries while playing for their countries.
Most managers are not in favour of international weeks and they want these international matches to be played at the end of the season.
Chelsea are currently top of the Premier League standings alongside Liverpool and this afternoon they travel to the northeast to face Middlesbrough.
Chelsea and Arsenal were targeted for criticism by Roy Keane who remarked that the two London clubs do not deserve all the credit they get for the crop of young stars they have. The Sunderland manager claimed that Chelsea and Arsenal bring in many talented teenagers from other clubs, at home and abroad.
The Teessiders have won two of their last three home meetings with Chelsea.
Anfield. Liverpool have found mid-table clubs like Wigan a stumbling block in recent years as the Reds have a tendency of producing their best league form when they play on their travels.
The Reds host Wigan this afternoon without their prolific goalscorer Fernando Torres and Dutch winger Ryan Babel who have suffered injuries while playing for their countries.
Steve Bruce hopes to maintain his impressive record against Liverpool in the Premier League. The former Manchester United defender has led his sides to two wins and four draws against Liverpool during his time at Birmingham and with present club Wigan.
Rafael Benitez is expected to replace the injured Martin Skrtel with Daniel Agger at the back.
Emirates Stadium. Arsenal's present task is to play more consistently and start scoring goals on a more regular basis.
Their opponents today are Everton who are sixth from bottom - a position that is hurting the fans and their manager David Moyes who has finally signed a new contract.
Moyes had earlier suggested that he may have been at Everton for 'too long' before changing his mind after talks with veteran coach Sir Bobby Robson.
Old Trafford. Champions Manchester United, whose striker Wayne Rooney has found his scoring touch once more for club and country, take on West Brom at Old Trafford this evening.
It looks like Real Madrid have launched another campaign to lure Cristiano Ronaldo away from Old Trafford next season. UEFA president Michel Platini, who love to have a go at English clubs, should come down heavily on the Spanish outfit who have a history of trying to unsettle players at other clubs.
West Brom have not won against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the top flight in 10 visits. Their last victory was attained in League One (old) 1978-79 (5-3).
Top-six hopefuls
Villa Park. Aston Villa and Portsmouth, two teams vying to challenge for a top-six place in the Premier League this season and who are both through to the group stages of the UEFA Cup, meet at Villa Park this afternoon.
Aston Villa starlet Ashley Young has won his second Player of the Month award.
Pompey have two heroes of their own in the attacking tandem of Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch.
Reebok Stadium. The Lancashire derby between Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn should produce drama and nail-biting stuff.
The Rovers have a three-point advantage over the Trotters but this afternoon they will be facing them away from home.
However, on the plus side for Blackburn is the fact that they have not lost at Bolton in seven visits to the Reebok Stadium, having won three and drawn the other four.
Blackburn defender Stephen Warnock hit out at his club's critics who have been speculating that there is a rift behind the scenes at Ewood Park.
St James' Park. While Newcastle are still scrutinising the mega-rich moguls who are interested in taking over the club, their opponents Manchester City are ready to splash more than £100 million in the January transfer window.
City boss Mark Hughes is confident he can lure the biggest stars to Eastlands.
Brazilian forward Robinho want to impress the fans with his language as well as his football skills as he is improving his English.
Newcastle's defensive stalwart Steven Taylor has given his backing to interim boss Joe Kinnear as the fans hope to have Kevin Keegan back at the start of next month.
Craven Cottage. Last season, Sunderland claimed a significant 3-1 victory at Fulham's backyard. Yet, in the remaining three meetings in the Premier League in London, the Cottagers have always come out on top - 2-1, 1-0, 2-0.
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn remarked that there was more cash available for manager Keane to strengthen his squad in January and ruled out the possibility of loaning out striker Michael Chopra.
After four successive defeats, Fulham have realised that their bright start to the campaign was a false dawn and more negative results could leave them fighting for dear life as was the case last season.
Britannia Stadium. Two clubs in the relegation zone, Stoke and Tottenham Hotspur, will be keen to gain valuable points when they face each other at the Brittania Stadium tomorrow.
Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has hit out at Martin O'Neill, accusing him of almost ruining his career for holding him back while he was at Aston Villa.
According to reports in the English press, Spurs have given Juande Ramos until November 6 to turn the club's fortunes around.