Chelsea head into the Premier League encounter with Huddersfield Town on Wednesday evening knowing that victory will take the club level on points with Liverpool in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League.
As for Huddersfield, David Wagner's team travel to Stamford Bridge with the prospect of securing the club's place in the top flight for another 12 months with victory.
Chelsea
© OffsideOn a daily basis, reports continue to suggest that Antonio Conte will be leaving Chelsea at the end of the season - providing that the Italian receives a substantial payoff - and rumours persist that Maurizio Sarri and Luis Enrique are in the running for the main position in the dugout.
However, for all of the talk of change at Stamford Bridge, Conte and his players are finishing the season stronger than any of their rivals and if Chelsea close the campaign with a top-four finish and the FA Cup, surely that will be considered a huge success given the alleged tension behind the scenes.
Chelsea finishing fourth is still unlikely, with Tottenham Hotspur probably needing to lose to one of out-of-form pair Newcastle United and Leicester City or for Liverpool to fail to beat an already-safe Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield, but there is no doubting that the West Londoners have the momentum.
Since April 8, Chelsea are unbeaten in six and have recorded five wins in a row in all competitions, and although four of those victories have come by a one-goal margin, Conte's side are proving that they can grind out success.
Three clean sheets have also been recorded in a row and the only goal that has been conceded in 390 minutes plus added-on time is a fortuitous effort from Burnley's Ashley Barnes. It may end up being too late, but the Chelsea juggernaut of last season is starting to pick up speed again.
Back in January, the addition of Olivier Giroud appeared to be a panic buy but the Frenchman is proving to be a valuable asset at both ends of the pitch and the Chelsea supporters have bought into Giroud's desire to prove himself after leaving rivals Arsenal.
The recall of Gary Cahill has proven equally important. At times this season, the long-serving defender has found himself on the bench but since coming back into the team, the 32-year-old has played every minute of Chelsea's recent revival.
Chelsea's resurgence may count for nothing come the end of the week, but Conte will stress that they cannot afford any complacency as they look to arrive at the FA Cup final with an eight-match unbeaten record.
Recent form: LDWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWWW
Huddersfield Town
© OffsideWagner has always maintained that his Huddersfield side are underdogs to retain their place in the Premier League, and with only a three-point cushion being established ahead of games with Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, Terriers fans could have been forgiven for thinking that Championship football may be on the horizon again.
That probably still remains the case, but Sunday's goalless draw at the home of Premier League champions City - a result which Wagner described as 'miraculous' - has injected new life into a survival bid which had the potential to peter out.
On rare occasions, Huddersfield had to ride their luck at the Etihad Stadium but the Yorkshire outfit also created their own opportunities and that will only encourage Wagner ahead of what remains a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge.
Huddersfield have taken four points off City and neighbours Manchester United this season - a tally which could end up being the difference between safety and relegation - but last season's playoff winners have lost all of the other eight fixtures against top-six clubs this season.
On the flip side, Huddersfield are in a position where they know what will be required due to Swansea City and Southampton doing battle on Tuesday night. A win for either side, and Wagner's men will require just a point to be safe.
Even if their two relegation rivals play out a draw at the Liberty Stadium, Southampton would have to beat Man City on the final day when Pep Guardiola's team are either motivated to break Chelsea's point tally or by reaching 100 points. Simply put, Huddersfield do not want a Southampton win in South Wales.
Wagner will not want to leave anything to chance, but there will also be a certain level of acknowledgement that a point at Chelsea - like it was at City - would still be regarded as a fantastic result, even if it led to another point being needed against Arsenal on the final day.
At a time when a result is still required, there will be a concern over Huddersfield's lack of goals with just two coming from eight matches, but Wagner and his players have already shown this season that they are capable of delivering results at important times, and one more over the next five days may just be the biggest in the club's history.
Recent form: LLDWLD
Team News
© SilverHubConte has confirmed that Alvaro Morata is available for selection on Wednesday night after recovering from the fitness issue which prevented an appearance against Liverpool.
Morata will likely feature on the substitutes' bench, with one of Ross Barkley or Pedro missing out on a place in the 18-man squad.
Neither David Luiz nor Danny Drinkwater is likely to play any part of the club's final game at Stamford Bridge this season.
Wagner has revealed that Tom Ince is back in contention after spending time on the sidelines since April 14.
Defenders Terence Kongolo and Chris Lowe are both carrying knocks, but Wagner hopes to have the pair in his squad for the trip to West London.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Bakayoko, Fabregas, Alonso; Hazard, Giroud
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Lossl; Smith, Jorgensen, Schindler, Lowe; Hogg, Mooy, Kongolo, Hadergjonaj, Pritchard; Mounie
Head To Head
Wednesday's encounter will represent the 66th time that the two clubs have met in a competitive fixture, with Chelsea having registered 29 wins in comparison to 27 victories for Huddersfield.
The teams have only played each other on four occasions since 1999, with Huddersfield winning a League Cup tie at Stamford Bridge during that year and Chelsea registering victories in the FA Cup in West London during 2006 and 2008.
However, in the reverse fixture earlier this season, Chelsea dominated from start to finish as a convincing 3-1 triumph was recorded at the John Smith's Stadium.
We say: Chelsea 2-0 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield will be full of confidence after shutting out Man City, but the chances of keeping clean sheets at the home of two of the Premier League's biggest clubs in the space of just over 72 hours are remote. We expect Chelsea to be business-like on Wednesday night and are backing the home side to run out comfortable winners.
