It’s seventh in the table taking on fifth as Derby County host fellow promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough in an absolutely huge clash at Pride Park this weekend.
Boro took advantage of Derby crashing to a surprise 3-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Burton Albion last time out to move above them in the table, although their rivals still currently hold a game in hand.
The Teessiders were at the same time overcoming another of the major challengers, Bristol City, 2-1 in a really key ‘six-pointer’ towards the top of the table.
Manager Tony Pulis hopes to have both Stewart Downing and Ben Gibson available despite missing training during the week.
However, striker Patrick Bamford – who scored the winner in Boro’s latest victory at the same venue – appears unlikely to be risked following a heavy knock requiring over ten minutes of on-field treatment at the weekend.
Longer-term casualty Rudy Gestede is already out of contention for the visitors.
Both Andreas Weimann [shoulder] and Kasey Palmer [knee] were expected to recover for their opponents, while skipper Richard Keogh could return in defence.