With the Scarlets welcoming Cardiff to Parc y Scarlets this weekend, you'd be hard-pressed to work out which fanbase is dreading it more.
The Scarlets are without a win after three matches, while Cardiff have lost their last two and are currently being overshadowed by off-field issues. It's fair to say that, even this early in the season, some supporters are more than a little concerned.
Some of those worries are the same across both sets of fans. Others are distinctly unique to one or the other.
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But just what is troubling both sides ahead of their meeting in Llanelli this weekend, and how easy are those problems to remedy?
Let's start with the hosts. Arguably, they should have won their opening match against the Ospreys, but having drawn that, they were always playing catch-up in defeats to Ulster and Benetton.
Despite giving themselves a chance late on in both of those matches, they were, in essence, always second best. That is in part due to a squad that is ultimately unbalanced.
Their pack lacks gritty ball carriers. A second-row partnership of Sam Lousi and Vaea Fifita is, on paper, an exciting one, but it lacks the necessary grunt that was once provided by Jake Ball. Their back-five in the scrum is largely ball players, with Blade Thomson a similar threat in wider channels.
Virtually all of their carrying in the pack comes down to Sione Kalamafoni. How long can the 34-year-old continue to put in the hard yards?
As for opensides, both Josh Macleod and Tomas Lezana have had their injury problems - with the Scarlets short on sevens since James Davies retired. Injury issues seem to be a constant menace to Dwayne Peel's plans.
Then there is the backline. It feels like their best scrum-half isn't either of the international pairing of Kieran Hardy or Gareth Davies, but Dane Blacker.
Sam Costelow adds a spark to proceedings at 10, but without the former Wales U20s fly-half running the show, the attack looked blunt more often than not in Italy on the weekend.
More than a few fans would like to see youth given a chance in midfield, with the likes of Joe Roberts, Corey Baldwin and Eddie James knocking at the door. They might get a shot soon, but only because of injury to one of the Scarlets' best players so far this season, Johnny Williams.
Much like elsewhere, injuries continue to blight the back-three. Beyond the constant of Ryan Conbeer on the left wing, the Scarlets have named a different starting full-back and right winger in each of their three matches.
The unbalanced nature of this squad isn't a new problem. In fact, ever since the Scarlets won the PRO12 back in 2017, the wheels have been in motion on this one.
Wayne Pivac's title-winning squad was built on Wales internationals in their prime and a group of uncapped players providing a constant core throughout the season. However, that success naturally saw a lot of those uncapped players get capped - robbing the Scarlets of the consistency as the years went on.
A continual cycle of coaching changes following Pivac's departure and a continued reliance on Wales stars moving past their peak has led the Scarlets to where they are now. It's a problem Peel is aware of and something he tried to remedy in the summer as he looks to wean the club off their reliance on internationals, but ultimately he was only able to bring in one key piece of recruitment - Fifita.
Moving across to the capital, there's some similar issues - a lack of genuine power in the pack for starters - but the major problem at the Arms Park appears to be a cultural one.
The alleged incident that took place on Saturday night, when members of their squad were accused of threatening staff and throwing eggs at The Grange pub in Cardiff, isn't a good look for the fabric of the club. Regardless of what happened, Dai Young has already admitted it's not the sort of attention the club wants. You can read everything he had to say this week, here.
From the outside looking in, you could argue this has been brewing for a while now. The fact that players went ahead with a fancy dress social at the Arms Park following back-to-back defeats against the Scarlets last season drew the ire of some supporters.
Also, it is no secret that Young is saddled with some players at the club he would rather have replaced. Last season, the director of rugby put the whole squad on notice they were effectively playing for their futures - pointing to the fact that players had been handed an extra year on their contracts due to Covid, which stopped him making wholesale changes to his squad. That certainly felt like a source of frustration, although Young defended his team from accusations of complacency from fans later in the campaign, saying there's no "comfort zone" at the Arms Park.
Unfortunately, results on the pitch and incidents like Saturday night will only pour fuel on the fire. Speaking about the incident this week, it's hard to escape the impression that Young expects his players to shoulder more responsibility on and off the pitch.
"It’s their role as well," said Young when asked about getting back to what he can control in terms of the rugby. "We can obviously work on the game plan and tactics. We are accountable for selection but once they go across that whitewash, it’s over to them to perform at those levels that they want or feel they can perform at.
"We were very disappointed on Friday night."
Of course, the one area where the two sides both appear to struggle more than most is in defence. Despite hiring former Wales breakdown coach Gareth Williams in the summer, the Scarlets defence remains a work in progress after some testing years.
As for Cardiff, they ended the season last year conceding 69 points to Benetton, while they've already conceded 52 against Glasgow this year. Surely questions are being asked about Richard Hodges' role as defence coach.
Former Scotland international John Barclay was part of the Scarlets team that won the PRO12 five years ago, while in his punditry role for Premier Sports, he has seen both sides up close - even calling Cardiff "spineless" last season.
And for him, while a remedy isn't entirely obvious, he can see where both sides are struggling.
"I don't think I'd be able to pinpoint what is wrong," said Barclay at a media call event for the BKT United Rugby Championship. "If it was that easy to pinpoint, I think someone much smarter than me probably would have done.
"I was actually quite impressed with the Scarlets in the first game of the year against the Ospreys. They played some good stuff, but they came unstuck pretty badly on the weekend.
"I think the Scarlets are in a better spot than Cardiff. They look like they've got a bit more power, but they both struggle defensively. This is what I said last year.
"If you get 70 points put on you anywhere, there's issues. Last year, you'd see with Cardiff and Scarlets that when the floodgates opened, they stay open for the whole game.
"They're both doing some great stuff with the ball, but if you look at a Saracens, they based a lot of their success around defence and kick chase. The unglamorous side of the game, you could call it.
"Cardiff have made some nice signings, but if you're too easy to score against, you're not going to be in games. They're in a bit of a situation at the minute where they're not on the ball defensively.
"They've both got good players, they've got more power than they previously had but at the moment, their focus almost looks like it's just with the ball."
Their shared deficiencies could make for interesting viewing on Saturday. At least one set of fans will still have their frustrations come Saturday evening.
Read more:
Dai Young warns players they face consequences as Cardiff vow to uphold reputation
Cardiff Rugby press conference: Full transcript as club fully address allegations
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