There is just one game on Monday and Queens Park Rangers can take another step towards the promised land of the Premier League when they host Derby County at Loftus Road, with kick off at 1945 BST.
It is no surprise to see Rangers installed as the 8/15 favourites in the match betting as they have been the standout performers in the Championship this season and hold an impressive home record, suffering just one defeat all season.
That came against Watford back in December but with just five draws and 12 goals conceded, a league high 14 home victories – and 41 goals scored in the process – the Hoops have been a powerful force in west London.
Don’t expect a lack of focus from the leaders either on Monday, Neil Warnock will not allow that to happen with the job yet to be completed, and the three points might be enough to secure promotion before they next take to the field – Norwich need to beat Ipswich later in the week to delay what looks like the inevitable.
Of course the victory would open up a 10-point gap over Cardiff in second and it looks a tall order for Derby to get a result, considering they have struggled this season and are not yet mathematically safe from the drop.
A win would go a long way to at least guaranteeing Championship survival, although with an eight-point cushion over third-from-bottom Scunthorpe there will be plenty that think the Rams are safe already.
But a can case be made for the Rams to shock the leaders on their own patch and reward the punters who want to take the 11/2 on Nigel Clough’s men, while the draw is available at 3/1.
County have caused one or two surprises of late in a mixed run of form with home wins over Swansea and last time out against Leeds but were held by struggles Crystal Palace and Coventry.
A 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough and a 4-1 hammering at Cardiff suggests that Derby’s best form has come at Pride Park, borne out by the fact that they have won just five and lost 10 on their travels this term.
Only Palace and Sheffield United have scored fewer than County on the road this term, which is not the kind of form sides want to take to the league’s best defence.
However, history is on Derby’s side as they have lost only four times in the league at Loftus Road and not since 1982, when QPR were last promoted to the top flight.
The Rams also hold a 16-12 record in head-to-heads, although the majority of matches have ended in a stalemate with 17 draws between the sides, and fans may be happy to take a repeat of the reverse fixture.
Clough’s men looked set for the three points on August 28 at Pride Park but Patrick Agyemang and Jamie Mackie both scored in injury time to salvage a point (16/1 a repeat scoreline).
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