EFL preview: Defining week in Championship survival scrap
Just like that, there are only 10 games remaining of the Championship season and the finishing line is coming into view.
Another line coming into sharp focus in the midweek round of fixtures is the dotted one at the bottom end of the table.
A cluster of teams are trying to either clamber above the drop zone or keep their distance from danger - and six of them go head-to-head tonight and tomorrow.
There are also some potentially season-defining encounters across the rest of the EFL in League One and League Two.
Can Luton pull a rabbit out of the hat?
If ever there was a six-pointer, Luton Town's trip to fellow relegation-battlers Cardiff City this evening most definitely falls into that category.
The Hatters are five points adrift of safety in 23rd following their 4-0 thrashing at Burnley on Saturday, while the Bluebirds are four points above the bottom three in 21st.
Victory for Luton would close the gap to two points, while defeat would see it extend to eight, underpinning just how important the outcome to this one could prove to be.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the predicament they find themselves in, neither side are in flying form in the league, with Cardiff winning one of their past seven games and Luton tasting victory once in their previous 14 games (W1 D3 L10).
Home advantage might just give Cardiff the edge against a side that has won once on the road this season (W1 D2 L15) and is facing the prospect of consecutive relegations.
Rams face tough test
Derby County ended their miserable 12-game winless run with a crucial 2-1 victory over head coach John Eustace's previous club Blackburn Rovers on Saturday to put them within four points of safety in 22nd.
The Rams could not face a tougher challenge tonight, though, as they welcome the Championship's most in-form team.
Fifth-placed Coventry City's 3-2 win against Stoke City at the weekend means they have now won nine of their past 10 games, though seven of Derby's eight wins this season have come at Pride Park.
Victory for Derby would give them back-to-back wins for the first time since September, and could put them within one point of safety, depending on Cardiff's result against Luton.
Pompey and Argyle - passing ships in the night?
Portsmouth's excellent 1-0 victory over leaders Leeds United on Sunday, to make it four wins from five, might just have put them on the brink of excluding themselves from the relegation battle conversation.
They are now 10 points clear of the bottom three in 17th, and the objective of staying safe in their first season back in the Championship for 12 years is so nearly complete.
As for their visitors, Plymouth Argyle, the picture is looking somewhat bleaker with every passing week.
Two league wins in a row over West Bromwich Albion and Millwall had put Miron Muslic's side within one point of safety, but a run of five games without victory since then has seen them slip back to the foot of the table and six points adrift of safety.
The Pilgrims have not won away from home all season (D5 L13) and a trip to Fratton Park - where Portsmouth have lost once in their past 12 (W9 D2 L1) - does not look the most inviting.
It is getting into do-or-die territory for Plymouth if they are to avoid a return to League One two years after winning promotion.
Will Tigers claw above U's?
A run of one defeat in their past five (W2 D2 L1) has helped Hull City drag themselves up to 19th and five points clear of danger, having sat in the bottom three one month ago.
They welcome an Oxford United side on Wednesday night who have been sliding in the wrong direction and could be sucked back into the survival scrap.
Since a new manager bounce under Gary Rowett helped the U's string together a nine-game unbeaten run, they have lost four of their past six and are now 18th, seven points clear of Derby in 22nd.
Victory for the Tigers would move them above Oxford, while a first win in nine games for the visitors could provide some timely respite and breathing space.
Automatic promotion race going to the wire
At the top end of the Championship, the race to win automatic promotion to the Premier League has tightened up once again.
Two points separate Leeds United and Sheffield United in the top two from Burnley in third.
The Clarets take on West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday and will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to 24 games.
Sheffield United host Bristol City, while Leeds host Millwall on Wednesday hoping to bounce back from a first defeat in 18 at Portsmouth.
Two straight wins for Sunderland has kept their faint hopes of automatic promotion just about alive, and they sit eight points off the top two ahead of the visit of Preston North End.
Schumacher's Bolton racing into play-off contention
The old adage in football goes that a side who can hit a decent run of form heading into the play-offs often goes on to win promotion.
Well, if Bolton Wanderers can continue in the same vein for their remaining 11 games in League One, they will certainly fancy their chances.
The Trotters have won seven of their past nine games (W7 D1 L1) since Ian Evatt was sacked on 22 January to move into sixth, two points above Huddersfield Town in seventh with a game in hand.
New boss Steven Schumacher has guided Bolton on a six-game unbeaten run, following on from the good work done by interim boss Julian Darby, who won both league games he took charge of.
Victory at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday could lift them above Stockport County and as high as fourth, depending on how fifth-placed Charlton Athletic get on at Crawley Town.
Promotion rivals collide in League Two
The pendulum seems to swing one way and then the other every week in the race for promotion in League Two.
That is set to happen again with some vital games at the top on Tuesday as four sides hoping to go up lock horns.
Notts County, who are fifth and have picked up one win in six games, welcome eight-placed Grimsby Town, who will move into the play-off spots with a draw.
Port Vale travel to in-form Colchester United as sixth takes on ninth with both sides unbeaten in their past 11 games.
Meanwhile, AFC Wimbledon, who were the only team in the top seven to win at the weekend, could move above Doncaster Roves into the automatic promotion spots if they beat Cheltenham Town at home.
