Two league games played, maximum points secured and a former defender turned manager has returned to his old club where supporters are already purring with appreciation following an encouraging start to his stewardship.
So far, so similar, at Easter Road and Celtic Park. Perfect starts for John Hughes and Tony Mowbray in the SPL have given Hibs and Celtic supporters cause for optimism ahead of a match that represents one of the stiffest domestic tests both sides will face all season. Both managers know that Sunday's clash will provide an early yardstick by which they can measure their respective SPL aspirations.
It's a trip that Celtic will make with trepidation. Leith has become a decidedly unhappy 'happy hunting ground' for the Bhoys of late and May's goalless draw at Easter Road in last season's penultimate match effectively extinguished Celtic's title hopes, after Hibs had done them a huge favour by holding Rangers in the previous game.
The same fixture last December had seen Hibs claim the then-champions' scalp in a 2-0 win, with gleeful Hibs fans enjoying the added bonus of the sort of howler from Celtic 'keeper Artur Boruc that has become something of an unwanted trademark for him at Easter Road.
His fumble to allow John Rankin's forty-five yard shot to squirm from his grasp, came hot on the heels of two costly slips from the Pole that gifted two goals to the home team to book-end a 3-2 Hibs win in the corresponding fixture the year before. Boruc will give the gloves an extra wipe before coming out for this one.
Gary Caldwell is another amongst the Celtic ranks who must be privately dreading a return to Easter Road. The ex-Hibs defender's weak header to allow Collin Samuel in for St. Johnstone's first goal on Saturday suggested a player whose confidence is shot.
It was part of a disturbing pattern of recent blunders for club and country that have mottled Caldwell's season so far, with Wednesday's half-time substitution during Celtic's shuffling Champions League exit at the Emirates adding to Caldwell's wretched litany of recent woes.
The hostile environment of Easter Road is possibly the last place Caldwell would choose to restore his self-belief after a nightmare fortnight.
John Hughes will certainly be keen to put any Celtic defensive frailties to the test and last week's acquisition of Anthony Stokes has swollen his already handsome attacking options.
Hughes has spoken of his fondness for tearing up and down the highways of Britain seeking out the next bargain signing but Stokes' signing is the result of a more familiar association.
The striker grew to prominence under Hughes at Falkirk netting 14 goals in 16 games for the Bairns before winning a £2million move to Roy Keane's Sunderland but his career has faltered since moving from the SPL.
The substantial drop in wages on offer at Hibs from what he was picking up to play a peripheral role at the Stadium Of Light (he was twice sent on loan during a torrid two and a half year spell that saw him fall foul of Keane's exacting timekeeping standards) indicates a player whose motivations and desire to play are certainly intact and Hughes threw him straight into the team that won 1-3 at Falkirk.
By his own admission Stokes is lacking match fitness but a three year deal for a reported fee of around £350,000 - at a time when short term loans are de rigeur for cautious SPL managers - would suggest the Dubliner is likely to be at the head of the crowd of six forwards jockeying for a permanent place in Hughes' frontline.
Derek Riordan is certain to start against Celtic after his brace at the Falkirk Stadium where he ghosted through the Bairns' zonal marking to claim a predatory strike at the near post, before curling in a delightful free-kick from twenty-five yards. Riordan's Celtic career never really got going and he will be keen to show his old club what they are missing on Sunday.
Celtic though will feel that in Aiden McGeady and Shaun Maloney they boast the two most potent attacking threats in the SPL.
Tony Mowbray has encouraged his two wide men to drift inside to penetrate with their dribbling abilities and the result has been a fluidity of play that was notably absent from Celtic last season. Between them, the wingers have scored four times so far and Hibs fans will be wary of the threat Celtic pose from the flanks.
With Marc Antoine-Fortune finally breaking his scoring duck at the weekend, there is plenty for the Hibs defence to concern themselves with. However, the dangers of Mowbray's style of football (an attacking brand that Hibs fans will remember well) have revealed themselves already this season.
Celtic have managed just one clean sheet from their six competitive games so far and Hibs will feel confident that they have the players to exploit the gaps which frequently appear at the back for Celtic as Mowbray's troops follow their leader's attacking commands. The make up of both sides suggests goals are the likely by-product when they meet on Sunday.
Hibs have shown they have the character to cope should Celtic go ahead, having come back from behind in both games so far against St. Mirren and Falkirk. And with Merouane Zemmama and Ian Murray returning imminently, the immediate future looks bright.
A fixture that sees Mowbray making his first competitive visit to the club where he cut his managerial teeth in earnest and Hughes up against his old club, there is plenty of pride at stake for a game which will put an end to at least one of the three 100% records left in the SPL so far this season.
