Wigan boss Roberto Martinez is prepared to risk another 6-0 thrashing by Chelsea in search of a win.
The Londoners routed Martinez's men by that scoreline on their last visit to the DW Stadium in the second game of last season.
Wigan ultimately only avoided relegation from the Barclays Premier League on the final day of the campaign and they head into the home meeting with Chelsea again in deep trouble.
The Latics lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with victory at West Brom last week but their Christmas schedule is tough with Liverpool and Manchester United coming next.
Martinez is determined to approach the festive programme positively, though, and said: "I just feel these games are great opportunities for us to try to get something where nobody expects us to.
"I don't like to go into a game thinking about it being damage limitation or just trying to get through unnoticed.
"It is a unique opportunity to go and try to express yourself and test yourself to the maximum.
"That means sometimes that will leave you exposed and you could end up on the end of a difficult scoreline but I think we need to be prepared to do that.
"I think the only way you can get a positive result against the top sides is if you take risks.
"You need to score goals and that is the only way you can do that.
"I would rather give everything we've got and be heavily challenged and see what the outcome is.
"If you look back, we had a heavy defeat with Chelsea at home and then we had a victory.
"I would rather that than losing both games by minimal scorelines."
Martinez is not fazed by the prospect of facing Chelsea at a time when they have started to find their form.
Their manager Andre Villas-Boas had found himself under pressure after a difficult start to the campaign but the past fortnight has seen that change.
Martinez said: "After the performance at West Brom - and the manner we had to get those three points where we were heavily tested in every aspect of our game - I just feel we are ready to go and compete with one of the top teams in the league and a team that probably have turned their season around.
"They have had two unbelievable moments in their season, qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League and then being the first team to beat the impressive Manchester City this season.
"So, we know they are going to be on top of their moment of form but we are ready to be ourselves and enjoy a good footballing day."
Villas-Boas has claimed Chelsea have no plans to sign a striker despite the prospect of losing Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in January.
Villas-Boas has been linked with signing more than one forward when the transfer window reopens, including Chile prospect Eduardo Vargas, Real Madrid star Gonzalo Higuain and Napoli's Edinson Cavani.
Anelka will join Shanghai Shenhua at the turn of the year while Drogba and Kalou could be unavailable for up to four weeks if Ivory Coast go far in the African Nations Cup.
That would leave Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge and Romelu Lukaku as Villas-Boas' only recognised strikers and with the former still in the doldrums and the latter very much a raw teenager, Chelsea could end up short of goals during a crucial period of the season.
Yet, Villas-Boas shrugged off these concerns when asked if that meant he needed to bolster his forward line next month.
"I don't think so," said the Portuguese, who also pointed out that his side were not overly-reliant on a single goalscorer, unlike some of their title rivals. "Sometimes teams generate more goalscoring opportunities for certain people.
"We are within Man City's range as the most attacking team. But we created for different players. That's why we have our goal sheet spread out through everybody, from (Frank) Lampard, to Sturridge, to Raul (Meireles), to (Juan) Mata. It's pretty diverse."
Drogba looks certain to keep his place at Wigan, where victory would move Chelsea to within four points of leaders Manchester City, who host Arsenal on Sunday.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG