I wonder if this is going to be the day when QPR finally win a league game for the first time this season at the 17th time of asking - or whether their neighbours from three-and-a-half miles down the road will inflict further misery on the Loftus Road faithful?
The impression seems to be that the Rangers ship has been steadied and a win might just be around the corner.
I was most recently at Loftus Road early last month for a 1-1 draw against Reading on a day when the team just didn't click as a unit and seemed more reliant on individual moments rather than an overall cohesive game plan.
It was much better at Old Trafford with Harry Redknapp in the stands but not yet on the touchline, as they held firm for an hour and were ahead, only for three goals in eight minutes to see them off.
The team haven't lost since, with a goalless stalemate at Sunderland followed by further draws at home to Aston Villa and away at Wigan.
Every point helps, but when you're eight points behind the team in 17th place with Christmas round the corner, the need to break the duck and get some wins on the board pretty sharpish is obvious.
Fulham have been more than a match for their neighbours in recent history, winning the last four meetings and remaining unbeaten in the last half dozen. Actually, Rangers haven't even managed to score a goal in any of the last six encounters, stretching all the way back to 1983.
Fulham arrive in 13th place after securing a much-needed 3-1 win over Newcastle on Monday night. That followed an indifferent run of results that had seen them draw four and lose three of the previous seven. Things should be much brighter than the current mid-table placing, with Martin Jol's side having dropped 14 points from winning positions this season.
Fulham won 1-0 in this fixture last season (and were 6-0 winners at home), and will be aiming for just their second away win of the season against the only team in all four divisions of English football yet to win a game.
Head-to-head
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Fulham have won the last four meeting between the sides.
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QPR have failed to score in their last six matches against Fulham. Their last goal against the Cottagers was back in January 1980, when Gary Waddock and Steve Burke scored in a 2-0 win at Craven Cottage.
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Fulham beat QPR 6-0 at Craven Cottage last season. None of the four scorers that day remain at the club, with two (Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora) now playing for the Rs. Pavel Pogrebnyak, who scored the winner in the 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage, has also since left.
QPR
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QPR have set a new Premier League record by failing to win any of their opening 16 games. Only two teams have previously failed to win any of their opening 17 top-flight games - Burnley in 1889-90 (17 games) and Bolton in 1902-03 (22 matches).
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The Rs have taken just four points from their seven home games this season, scoring five goals.
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They have earned seven points. Only Sheffield Wednesday (1999-2000), Sunderland (2005-06) and Derby County (2007-08) had fewer points at this stage of a Premier League season. All ended up being relegated.
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Harry Redknapp has failed to win in his first three league matches as manager of a new club three times before - West Ham in 1994 (five matches), Portsmouth in 2002 (five) and Southampton in 2004 (seven).
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QPR have had nine red cards in the league in 2012. If they receive another, they will set a new outright Premier League record for the most red cards in a single calendar year, eclipsing the nine by West Ham in 1999 (who were then managed by Harry Redknapp).
Fulham
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Fulham's victory against Newcastle last weekend ended a run of seven games without a win - and a run of three games without scoring.
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This is Fulham's fifth game against a fellow London club this season. They have failed to win any of the first four (D2, L2).
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Only four clubs have scored more Premier League goals than Fulham's tally of 27 this season - but only four clubs have conceded more than the 27 let in by Fulham.
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Fulham have won only one of their last 41 Premier League away London derby matches stretching back nine years. The only victory was 1-0 at QPR last season.
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Damien Duff has made 99 Premier League appearances for Fulham.