The Bluebirds will be looking for their usual Tuesday tonic when they play Derby County at Pride Park on Tuesday.

No team in the Championship have won more Tuesday matches than Cardiff City, who are level with promotion rivals Fulham on seven.

An eighth Tuesday victory would put City clear – and manager Neil Warnock would be bang on course to secure a record eighth promotion.

More than 2,400 Cardiff supporters are following their team to the English midlands on Tuesday (7.45pm) and it looks certain that Liverpool loanee Marko Grujic will return to the starting line-up.

Craig Bryson, on loan from Derby, is ineligible because of a clause in the contract with Serbian international Grujic the likely choice alongside Joe Ralls and Aaron Gunnarson in midfield.

A back injury sustained by Lee Peltier is likely to mean Bruno Manga will switch to right-back with Sol Bamba returning alongside captain Sean Morrison at the heart of defence.

“Derby County away and Hull City away are two of the toughest games anyway,” says Warnock. “Reading at home to finish. They are fighting, too. There aren’t any easy games.

“Sunderland are relegated and you expect Fulham to overpower them. We have to try and be in a position where we can win promotion in these three games.”

Fulham would reach 91 points if they won both of their final two matches, a tally Cardiff would beat if they secure victories in two of their last three games.

The Cottagers could finish their Championship season with an unbeaten run of 24 matches and still fail to earn automatic promotion.

“It’s tough isn’t it?” said Warnock. “Personally, I love it.

“You start the season, you know all the rules and we tried to focus on getting into the play-offs. By Christmas we realised we could have loftier ambitions. Instead of fading away after an horrific December, we grew stronger.

“Even after the disappointments of Wolves and Aston Villa we picked ourselves up and dusted ourselves off and went again.

“In a normal season, Fulham would have walked it by now. 22 games unbeaten with the players they have. We must be like something they want to swat away, like a rash or something.

“But we keep going and it’s making it an interesting end to the season for TV and the media because otherwise it would just be a two-horse race and it would have been finished by now.

“I think the lads are all looking forward to it. We can go into it (against Derby) in good spirits knowing if things don’t go right, we’ve still got two more games to have a go at. We’ll be going there to try and win the game like Derby will, because both clubs have to do that.

“Three games in a week is tough, especially the way we play. Everyone seems in good spirits and they all want to have a go. Even the lads who haven’t been involved. Jazz Richards is back in training.”

Derby v Cardiff is a fixture full of fear and tension, certainly for the home team. The Rams dare not lose, while Cardiff are focused on a big finish to the season and promotion is within reach.

Bluebirds’ fans could be wearing snow jackets for the trip, a nod to the ‘snow gate’ row when Derby postponed this fixture last month.

Neither manager, though, were interested in keeping saying anything to add extra tension to a game which means so much to both clubs.

Warnock, who described the decision to postpone the initial fixture as ‘disgraceful, says there will be an ‘edge’.

Cardiff captain Sean Morrison was filmed taunting Derby players using obscene language in a video, but Warnock insists: “When you’re fighting for what we are both fighting for there’s going to be an edge – and the same with the fans.

“The players get on well with each other if I’m honest.

“It was light-hearted and there’ll be shaking hands at the end of the game, I’m sure.”

Derby County include Cardiff-born former Bluebirds player Joe Ledley in their squad, although he was left out of their starting line-up against Middlesbrough in the last game.

Cardiff City, possible: Etheridge, Manga, Bamba, Morrison, Bennett, Ralls, Gunnarsson, Grujic, Mendez-Laing, Zohore, Hoilett.

Remaining fixtures for the top three:

Wolves: Sheffield Wednesday (H), Sunderland (A).

Cardiff City: Derby (A), Hull (A), Reading (H).

Fulham: Sunderland (H), Birmingham (A).

Championship As It Stands

		Team	P	GD	Pts
1		Wolves	44	46	98
2		Cardiff	43	30	86
3		Fulham	44	34	85
4		Aston Villa	44	31	82
5		Middlesbrough	44	20	72
6		Millwall	44	12	69
7		Derby	43	17	68
8		Brentford	44	12	68
9		Preston	44	9	67
10		Bristol City	44	10	66
11		Sheff Utd	44	7	66
12		Leeds	44	-6	57
13		Norwich	44	-8	57
14		Ipswich	44	-7	56
15		Sheff Wed	44	-5	53
16		QPR	44	-12	53
17		Nottm Forest	43	-16	49
18		Hull	44	2	48
19		Reading	44	-18	43
20		Birmingham	44	-30	43
21		Bolton	44	-34	40
22		Barnsley	43	-20	38
23		Burton	44	-44	38
24		Sunderland	44	-30	34