Nigel Pearson admits his side's clash with relegation rivals QPR tomorrow is crucial to Leicester City's survival prospects.
City head to Loftus Road (3.0) third-from-bottom in the table, just two points above rock-bottom QPR.
Rangers came up with City from the Championship last season and, while Pearson normally down plays the individual importance of any one game, he said there was no denying this clash had taken on added significance.
"It will be an important game for us, as it will be for them," he said. "For sure, these games are important, there is no doubt about that.
"Must win? Well, every game you play you try to win, but I think there is more importance on games where potentially you are going to be up against sides who may be around you.
"I am not going to underplay that. It is an important game for us.
"Ultimately, our performance has to be right. It is about going there and trying to win the game, and that is what we will try to do."
To claim the points, City certainly need to improve on their recent goalscoring record, having failed to find the back of the net in their last five fixtures.
But Pearson says he still believes his side can hit the goal trail soon.
"It is not just about players not scoring," he said. "If you create enough opportunities, mathematically players are going to have a better chance of scoring.
"I don't think we have been as creative in recent weeks as we would like to have been.
"That sometimes may be because of the way we have set up and sometimes it is because we are coming up against a different quality opponent.
"I do feel we will find the right answers."
With the January transfer window just a month away, City are already planning on what business they will try to do to strengthen the squad for the vital push for survival.
But Pearson is playing his cards close to his chest about how much money will be at his disposal. "We have already discussed what we might do in January," he said. "That isn't something that is just talked about when the window opens. We have already discussed it.
"I don't think it is for the public domain. There are always things mooted by other people about how much money we have to spend.
"I think I have a good handle on where we are at and we will act as a club accordingly."
