Cardiff City's squad is looking increasingly threadbare as we head into this crucial encounter with Rotherham United.
Injuries, suspension and players' undulating form have all taken their toll on the Bluebirds so far this season, which no doubt has contributed to their rocky start to the campaign. A few dicey refereeing decisions and a manager sacking have played their parts, too.
But a healthy chunk of the season is already in the tank and, just as it was 12 months ago, Cardiff find themselves at the wrong end of the Championship table.
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There are mitigating circumstances for why the last three results have all gone against Cardiff, with refereeing calls and a moment of Callum Robinson madness compounding the issue, but nevertheless the defeats have lumped huge pressure on the run of five matches before the World Cup break.
The first of that little chunk of fixtures comes at home against the Millers on Saturday afternoon and it's fair to say interim boss Mark Hudson has a couple of major calls to make when selecting his team ahead of the fixture.
Cardiff have first-choice left-back Jamilu Collins out for the season, while fellow defenders Perry Ng and Mahlon Romeo are major doubts. In midfield, Ebou Adams is yet to kick a ball in anger.
Further up the field, some of their best attacking talent are also not available for selection. Isaak Davies is unlikely to be seen before the World Cup, Cardiff's most creative player, Rubin Colwill, is still struggling with a hip-flexor injury, while Robinson, the Bluebirds' biggest goal threat, is banned for the next three games owing to the sending off at Swansea.
So, here, we look at the five positions which will likely be giving Cardiff boss Hudson a dilemma ahead of the weekend...
Left-back
A position which is emerging as an issue for Cardiff at the minute. The early-season blow of losing Jamilu Collins was quickly addressed with the loan acquisition of Niels Nkounkou, but it's fair to say the Everton wing-back has endured a mixed start to the campaign.
His performances have been erratic. He has displayed utter magic, at times, with the ball at his feet and with his marauding and powerful runs. But he has also been guilty of numerous defensive lapses, which have proved costly in recent weeks. So, does Hudson stick or twist?
It was telling that Joel Bagan played the full 90 minutes for the under-21s against Colchester on Tuesday. He has had his struggles with injury of late, but he is looking a more viable option with each passing match. It might detract a little from City's attack, but Bagan would seem to be a far more defensively astute option.
The other options include dropping Callum O'Dowda into that left-back slot, but he is just about the most consistent attacking player Cardiff have at their disposal at the minute. Pulling him from the attacking line doesn't seem to make sense.
Cardiff might hope and pray that one of Romeo or Ng are fit enough to play and one of them, or Tom Sang, could swap flanks. That's certainly an option. Or do Cardiff opt for a back five, with Nkounkou in a wing-back role, where he looks far more comfortable?
A very tough call, but something needs to be done to address a growing Achilles heel.
Centre-back
The Bluebirds' best centre-back partnership is undoubtedly Cedric Kipre and Perry Ng. Hudson will hope beyond all hope that Ng is fit enough to play against the Millers so that his best centre-half duo can take the field together.
But there is every chance that might not happen. It was interesting to see Hudson opt for Curtis Nelson against Swansea at the weekend. He is currently the lightning rod for fans' ire owing to a few sub-par performances earlier in the season, but you don't get as many EFL and Championship appearances as he has under his belt if you're a bad player. He perhaps doesn't get the credit he deserves, although admittedly his form has not been up to scratch this term.
Then there is Jack Simpson. He has not lit the place up like Kipre has since joining in the summer, but there are very few occasions you can think of where he has produced howlers. Even that red card at QPR was a shocker of a refereeing decision which was ultimately rescinded.
But it must be said that Simpson doesn't fill you with total confidence, both in and out of possession, for whatever reason. Perhaps that comes with being a fringe player for so long. But he is a decent defender and there certainly isn't much to choose between him and Nelson at the minute.
If Ng is fit, though, he plays, you would think.
Right-back
It looks like Sang's shirt to lose at the minute after his performance against Swansea. To his credit, he rarely lets the team down when he plays.
However, Mahlon Romeo has started the season like a house on fire and it would be difficult to leave him out if he returned to full fitness ahead of the weekend. Both he and Ng were back training this week, but whether they are match fit yet is another consideration all together.
There is a clamour for Sang to get a chance in midfield, though, so if Romeo was fit there might be scope to move the former into the middle of the park to accommodate both of them. Or, as previously suggested, one of them could operate on the other flank to solve the Nkounkou problem.
Less of a dilemma, this one, maybe, but if the call is to play Romeo then Sang would have to be accommodated elsewhere. Vontae Campbell appears to have fallen behind both of them in the pecking order now.
Wing
O'Dowda is nailed on to start on the one wing, but who starts on the other side? Working on the premise that Hudson continues with his 4-3-3 formation, Cardiff need another creative force on the flank, a position which they have struggled to nail down so far this term.
Sheyi Ojo has been the preferred option, but he, much like Nkounkou, has flattered to deceive at times. Ojo looks a million dollars one minute, then can have 10 minutes when nothing goes right for him.
Jaden Philogene has not had the game time he would have liked this term. There was a lot expected of the Aston Villa loanee but he has failed to produce in the moments that matter so far. His fleetness of foot is certainly eye-catching, but that final ball or shot is invariably disappointing. Will a goal in midweek for the under-21s convince Hudson to give him a shot?
What Hudson would give for a fully-fit Rubin Colwill now. But such is life at Cardiff City at the minute.
The obvious solution, of course, is to pick the most consistent of the lot on the other wing: Mark Harris. However, he might be needed in that striker role, which we move on to next...
Striker
This is only really a dilemma if Harris is selected to play on the wing, because the Wales international is comfortably streets ahead of the competition with Robinson now out of contention for three matches.
But if Hudson wants Harris out on the wing, who does he opt for as the striker? Well it is likely between Max Watters and Kion Etete, neither of whom have been particularly convincing so far.
Watters was given a real opportunity at the start of the season, with Steve Morison selecting him in the first eight games of the campaign. However, Watters failed to find the back of the net. His record in a Cardiff shirt so far reads one goal and zero assists in 20 appearances. Hardly prolific.
He has been good elsewhere, albeit at lower standards, and enjoyed a decent pre-season, but how many chances does he have left to prove he has a long-term future at the club?
Etete has looked worryingly out of sorts in the first team when he has played. But judgment must be reserved so early in his Bluebirds career. He did score a fluked, half-volleyed goal for the under-21s on Tuesday and linked up play nicely on occasion. He does not look like a Championship starter as things stand, though.
Isaak Davies would have been a prime candidate to lead the line, but he is unavailable until after the World Cup. All signs point to Harris. Pick your best available striker and sort the wing conundrum after that.
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