In last Saturday's minor miracle, Swansea traded places with Hull and escaped the drop zone, leaving the Welsh club in control of their own destiny with two matches to play. The last time Swansea were in this position, they blew a chance to pull away from trouble by lapsing into a six-game winless streak. This time there should be no such collapse, and a win over Sunderland this Saturday could finally confirm Swansea's survival.
David Moyes' already-relegated side pulled off a significant upset last Saturday with a 2-0 away win over Hull, ruining Hull manager Marco Silva's three-year unbeaten streak at home and greatly aiding Swansea's survival bid in the process. Perhaps geographical rivalry provided the spark Sunderland had been lacking so far this season.
With Newcastle taking a year's holiday in the Championship, Middlesbrough and Hull are Sunderland's next nearest neighbours. Given that the KCOM Stadium was rattled by chants of "you're going down with the Sunderland" from Sunderland's own fans last Saturday, the theory seems to hold water.
That being the case, Sunderland's fans will know that a Swansea victory Saturday would further dent Hull's hopes of survival, even if the players would never willfully lose a game (although on this season's evidence, who knows?). Even if Sunderland are motivated to win two in a row for the first time since November, it seems likely that this rejuvenated Swansea side, now full of self-belief, would still be too much for them.
The Swans are leaving it late but now must grasp their last chance at safety. The pieces of Paul Clement's plan have fallen into place at exactly the right time, with a switch to 4-3-1-2 formation paying dividends against Manchester United and Everton.
The new shape has allowed playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson to return to the hole and play as a conventional No.10. Not only is this easily his strongest position, but he is no longer being asked to defend the left flank, which has helped preserve the little energy the Icelander has left in the tank; he has played the most minutes of any Swansea player this season (3266).
Similarly, Jordan Ayew has become a force all of his own. The utility forward had been tried on the wing and as a lone striker in Clement's 4-3-3 with mostly underwhelming results. As part of a two-man strike unit in the 4-3-1-2 alongside prolific Spaniard Fernando Llorente, Ayew has come into his own and has played a part in all four goals Swansea have scored in their last three matches.
No other player in Clement's squad boasts the Ghanaian's close control and Swansea are reaping the benefits, exploiting the forward's dribbling ability as a form of hold-up play and a way to win free kicks, from which Sigurdsson has predictably proven highly dangerous.
A less eye-catching but equally significant change has come deeper, as Clement's reinstatement of captain Leon Britton to the starting lineup appears to have united the entire team. Britton is a hugely popular figure in Swansea on and off the field, and his stabilising influence has been at the heart of Swansea's recent recovery. His tempo, coolness under pressure and commitment to the cause have provided a central beacon from which the rest of the team have drawn heart.
The diminutive midfielder might be small in stature, but certainly not in character. Britton paid for the entire team to go out to dinner together as a team-bonding exercise a few days before the 2-0 victory over Stoke that jump-started Swansea's survival hopes. Last week, he convinced the rest of the team to pay £60,000 to allow 3,000 Swansea supporters to attend Saturday's game at Sunderland for free, because he values and recognises the fans contribution as much as his teammates (even as a handful of "fans" have since tried to sell their free tickets for extortionate sums online, proving that sometimes the fans can be every bit as greedy as any player or agent).
With that kind of passion and intent in the locker room and on the field, Swansea surely can't lose now. A victory against Sunderland puts pressure on Hull to achieve the same against a Crystal Palace side that are still not safe. Anything other than a Hull win suits Palace, and should Swansea win and Hull lose, then the relegation picture will be set.
The Swans aren't safe just yet, but with Clement's tactics clicking and Britton's leadership uniting the players, this side have the best chance of the three sides fighting to avoid the last relegation spot. Assuming the players learned their lesson about complacency last month, this season should end as one in which Swansea narrowly avoided disaster.