It always bugs me when people talk about "must win" games early in the season when its really not. But this is getting close to a genuine must win. If we get a draw, we'd be left with a 6 point gap to Swansea. So in reality they'd be close to safety and we'd be stuck with having to try to end up above both Newcastle and Sunderland. A win would bring Swansea right back into the relegation scrap.
Also of course, defeat on Saturday and we then have to play Man City and then go to West Brom, before Newcastle at home.
Because we have both Newcastle and Sunderland to play at home, defeat on Saturday would not be the final straw - it would not ensure we get relegated. But it's a chance to end our horrendous run. A great performance which gives no points (for whatever reason) is now a complete waste of time. A 1-0 win where they have 80% possession, hit the post 5 times and we score when their goalie falls over and throws the ball into his own net would be just fine.