On Thursday night Tottenham and Arsenal supporters will endure exactly the type of 90 minutes which can leave the most devoted of football fans questioning why they put themselves through it.
Until the final whistle sounds and their team has got over the line, followers of the two arch-rivals will struggle to enjoy the majority of this agonisingly-crucial north London derby - simply because there is so much riding on it.
With three games to play, the glistening carrot of Champions League football is dangling in front of both sides, who are separated by four points in fourth and fifth place respectively.