Promotion-chasing rivals Fulham and Cardiff City face off at Craven Cottage on Friday evening in a big match at the top end of the Championship.
Fulham have won three games in a row and still have hope of finishing in the top two, while Cardiff are in possession of the final playoff spot despite defeat last time out.
However, they have since claimed one-goal victories over Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest to just about remain in the hunt for a top-two finish.
The gap on second-placed West Bromwich Albion stands at four points ahead of the Baggies’ game in hand against Derby County on Wednesday evening, with four games left to play.
Fulham will have to win each of their remaining matches if they are to overtake Brentford and one of West Brom or Leeds, or else it will be a case of settling for the playoffs.
That is something Cardiff would happily accept right now, with the Welsh outfit currently occupying sixth place after an impressive run of form post-lockdown.
The Bluebirds took 10 points from the first 12 on offer after returning to action, seeing them move from ninth to sixth in the division.
However, Neil Harris’s side were sent crashing back down to earth on Tuesday night with a 3-2 home loss to Blackburn Rovers.
That has opened the door for the chasing pack to close the gap when they play their games in hand on Wednesday, with Derby potentially moving level on points with City.
Like Fulham, Cardiff will also likely be targeting all three points in West London on Friday, and they head to Craven Cottage on a run of three successive away victories.
Only neighbours Brentford have collected more home points than Fulham in the second tier this term, though, with the Cottagers winning 13 of their 21 matches.
The points were shared in a 1-1 draw when the sides last faced off 11 months ago, meanwhile, as Aleksandar Mitrovic struck to cancel out Josh Murphy’s opener.
