It is hard to imagine how Huddersfield Town could have had a worse opening weekend to the new Championship season.
The Terriers were soundly beaten 4-0 by Bournemouth to plummet to the bottom of the table after the first round of matches, before taking the bizarre decision to part company with manager Mark Robins.
The managerial sack race has become increasingly ridiculous in recent years, but Robins's departure after the first game of the season is a new low for football sanity.
Town can not afford to dwell on such a remarkable decision, however, as things don't get any easier for them with an away trip to Cardiff City next up on Saturday.
Former academy coach Mark Lillis will be the man at the helm, and he has overseen a busy opening week as caretaker manager at the John Smith's Stadium.
Tuesday's League Cup clash against Chesterfield supplied drama aplenty as Jon Stead's stoppage-time winner forced an additional 30 minutes that allowed Huddersfield to win the eight-goal thriller 5-3.
A hat-trick for Nahki Wells is certainly a positive to take from that match, although the fact that Town have now conceded seven goals in their opening two games makes it easy to see where the weaknesses may lie.
The Terriers also lost their Player of the Year from last season as Adam Clayton finally sealed his move to Middlesbrough earlier this week.
Jacob Butterfield arrived at the club in the opposite direction, and he could be in line to play some part this weekend.
Cardiff's start was not quite as damaging as Huddersfield's but they may still have expected more than a solitary point against Blackburn Rovers on Friday night.
The Bluebirds squandered a lead against Rovers at Ewood Park, although they will be confident that there are easier matches to come in the near future.
A good start to the season could be key for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, who are among the favourites for automatic promotion having been relegated from the Premier League last season.
It has been a busy summer for the club, however, and their new-look side may take time to gel in the early stages of the campaign.
They appeared to be a coherent bunch during Wednesday's League Cup win over Coventry City, although a concern for Solskjaer will be his side's inability to turn dominance into goals in that match.
A couple more new faces are expected in South Wales over the coming days, but for Saturday's match they could name an unchanged side, with no new injury concerns.
Recent form
Cardiff: WWWDDW
Huddersfield: LWLDLW
Possible starting lineups
Cardiff: Marshall; Brayford, Hudson, Connolly, Fabio; Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Daehli; Le Fondre, Jones, Maynard
Huddersfield: Smithies; Crooks, Peltier, Lynch; Hammill, Hogg, Norwood, Majewski, Dixon; Wells, Ward
Sports Mole says: 3-0
Barney Corkhill
