The countdown is on to this Sunday's huge Munster Senior Hurling Championship clash between Waterford and Clare.
Both sides go into the game knowing that a win should be enough to see them qualify for the All-Ireland series.
Waterford are unbeaten having defeated Cork and drawn with Tipperary - while this is Clare's last home game of the campaign.
Former Waterford manager Michael Ryan says the stakes couldn't possibly be any higher.
"Not many people expected Cork to beat Limerick last weekend, but they did it - so that's really blown it wide open. From Waterford's point of view, we shouldn't forget we got three points on the board. I mean, they beat Cork in the first match, drew with Tipperary and probably could easily have beaten Tipp. There's three points, Limerick have four, everybody else is lagging behind. It's a big game for Waterford and for Clare. A lot of people will say Waterford are not going to beat Limerick, that's up for discussion as well, but they'll probably see it as their best chance to qualify, because if they win, even if they draw, it looks like they'll get through."
Waterford hit 2-25 against Cork and 3-21 against Tipperary - and Ryan believes they'll need to do the same again to have any chance of a positive result.
"It's a massive game for both teams, as is every single game in this year's Munster Championship. They're putting up decent scores, 2-25 and 3-21 is a decent score. The way the game has gone now, it looks like it will take a score 30 plus points to win a Munster Championship game. That's a difficult task. Overall, they're scoring pretty freely."
Conor Prunty was taken off after just six minutes against the Premier with a quad injury - and the Fourmilewater man believes Prunty's absence could well decide where the game is won and lost.
"Whether or not Conor Prunty will be playing could be a very decisive factor - because I'd imagine if he's not playing, Clare will put Peter Duggan on the edge of the square, and he's a huge guy. Prunty's physical presence would be very good in that situation."
Clare were defeated by Limerick before bouncing back against Cork last time out - although they have conceded six goals so far. Ryan believes the Deise could exploit those defensive frailties.
"Looking at games in the league, they had nobody up front, or maybe one player up front. They found that balance of having enough bodies around the middle of the field, but they also seemed to have two players close to goal all the time as well. They have that nice balance - most games are decided on things like work rate and attitude, and maybe a little bit of luck now and again. It's a well-known fact, if you don't work hard, you're not going to win the game."
A trip to Ennis will prove a difficult proposition without doubt - but Michael believes there could well be cause for celebration come the final whistle.
"I'm going to go against the flow here, and everybody I meet is telling me, Clare are going to win this game. I think we have a really realistic chance. We have to play very well, we know that. We have to tighten up on a few things, particularly the puckouts. We have to defend really, really well - but I'm giving us a real chance to win this game."
Waterford versus Clare is the George Corbett Skoda Big Match this Sunday. Join Kieran O'Connor and Brian Flannery for live commentary from 1.45.
For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.
