Following a dream weekend in the Championship, Derby County have a chance to consolidate their lead at the top of the table when they host Charlton Athletic at the iPro Stadium on Tuesday night.
Darren Bent's 77th-minute penalty to secure a come-from-behind victory over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday always looked to be crucial, but results elsewhere made it doubly important in the title race.
The three teams below Derby in the table - Middlesbrough, Bournemouth and Ipswich Town - all lost, leaving the Rams two points clear at the summit and enjoying as much daylight as there has been for a while in a fascinating battle for automatic promotion.
Derby's own form has not been faultless either in recent weeks, with an exit from the FA Cup being followed by a late 3-3 draw against struggling Rotherham United, but they have at least kept picking up points.
Indeed, they are now unbeaten in their last six league outings and have only lost one of their last 11, with seven victories in that time as well.
The main issues for Steve McClaren in recent weeks have been at the back, with his side having conceded 10 goals in their five outings in February so far.
However, even in the absence of the injured Chris Martin, his side have had the firepower to compensate for that, with Bent in particular stepping up to the plate.
The loanee striker has scored in each of the last four games and netted seven times in his last eight for the club. He is expected to lead the line once again against his former team.
Tom Ince has also made an impressive start to his Derby career with five goals in his first four matches, while fellow winter loan signing Jesse Lingard may be handed a first start as McClaren exercises caution over the fitness of recently-returned George Thorne.
Derby boast the best home record in the Championship this season and are looking for a fourth straight victory over Charlton on their own patch, something they haven't achieved since 1947.
The Addicks will be no pushovers, however, having won their last two matches and beaten Derby 3-2 in the reverse fixture at The Valley back in August - their first win in their last seven meetings with the Rams.
Much has changed at the club since that win, with Guy Luzon replacing Bob Peeters at the helm, and the Israeli coach finally looks to be turning things around following an inauspicious start.
A 14-match winless run for Charlton ended earlier this month as they cruised to a surprise 3-0 victory over playoff hopefuls Brentford, while they won by the same scoreline on Friday to pile more misery on Wigan Athletic's season.
That gave them back-to-back league victories for the first time since their win over Derby in August, and they are now bidding for three on the bounce - something they haven't achieved for more than two years.
Eight points now separate them from the bottom three, and their gaze could be returning to an upward trajectory as they sit only one point off the top half.
Luzon is likely to reward Chris Eagles with a start after he came off the bench to score on his debut on Friday, while new signing Alou Diarra may also be involved at some point.
This will be the third meeting between these two sides this season, with Derby responding to their league defeat by knocking Charlton out of the League Cup just a week later.
Derby:
Form in Championship: WWWDDW
Form in all competitions: WWDLDW
Possible starting lineup: Grant; Christie, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Hendrick, Lingard, Hughes; Ince, Bent, Ward
Charlton:
Recent form: DDLLWW
Possible starting lineup: Henderson; Solly, Ben Haim, Johnson, Fox; Gudmundsson, Buyens, Cousins, Eagles, Bulot; Vetokele
Sports Mole says: 3-1
No Data Analysis info
