Championship leaders Newcastle United could be promoted to the Premier League as early as the weekend after a hard-fought win over Nottingham Forest.
Should United beat Peterborough and Forest lose to Bristol City, the Magpies will bounce back into the top flight after one season away.
They secured a 2-0 win over promotion rivals Forest after substitute Shola Ameobi scored in the 71st minute.
Jose Enrique blasted the ball past Lee Camp for Newcastle's second late on.
Despite a goalless opening 70 minutes, this top-of-the-table clash proved a gripping encounter from start to finish, with Forest playing their part as they looked to bring their run of six away defeats to an end.
Newcastle boss Chris Hughton:
"It's that close. We are where we are and we thoroughly deserve to be where we are and if [winning promotion] happens on Saturday, then no one will be more delighted than me.
"But the most important thing is we have to win first.
"The nature of our business is you have to enjoy the wins and it will be a nice day tomorrow at the training ground.
"I'm quite sure everybody will have a spring in their step. But we very quickly have to bring them back down to earth.
"If we are able to take a spare chunk of what we had tonight into [Saturday's game at Peterborough] then we have got a good chance of coming away with a victory."
Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies:
"I'm not admitting defeat, I am saying I think Newcastle United, in my opinion, will finish the job.
"We've got a challenge for second place that is very much still on the go."
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Preston are struggling under Ferguson junior, as they have only one win in last five games (Sheff.Utd. at home, 2-1). Good thing is they’re (still) far from relegation zone. Bad thing is they’re poor travelers, they’ve noticed seven defeats in last nine games on the road (one draw and one win) and next one will be at the toughest place in the second tier. Situation looks even worse after Tuesday’s defeat vs. Derby and conceded five(!) goals. The biggest problem is defense line that conceded 11 goals at last four games on the road (total of 30 goals and the worst record alongside Scunthorpe). That defense will miss the skipper Callum Davidson, while midfielders Richard Chaplow and Paul Parry are also out. Preston have played three of the current top five teams away from home, and lost all three games.
Watford is maybe the biggest surprise of recent season considering their players’ potential and especially financial problems. They’re just one point from play-off zone, but still remain as contenders for relegation. Players haven’t got last salary, while transfer market in January will be used as a try for financial income with selling the best players. At their last two games away, Hornets noticed two defeats and conceded 8 (eight) goals. Additional problem is Watford have another game (more important for them) at Monday when they’ll host QPR. Midfielder Don Cowie is back in the squad after a calf injury.
Newcastle came in the season with big turbulences within the club. One period nobody knew who will be the club’s owner, manager or which players remain in the club. But all these concerns haven’t affected the players too much. Magpies have noticed six wins (draw and a defeat) in opening eight rounds and occupied a spot that guarantees a direct promotion. Beside that, they made the best defense record in league, keeping five clean sheets and leaking only four goals. However, team noticed two consecutive defeats on the road. First, faced with big injury problems, Newcastle weren’t capable to resist against Blackpool (1-2), than in Cup encounter with just two regular players lost vs. Peterborough (0-2). Those two games showed it won’t be as easy as it seemed in one moment. Players are fully focused again and situation with the injuries becomes better. Marlon Harewood came from Aston Villa on loan deal to substitute long time injured key striker Shola Ameobi. Excellent Argentinean Jonas Gutierrez won’t be in action for a while. Midfielders Joey Barton (foot) and Danny Guthrie (one-game ban) also won’t appear today, while full-back Danny Simpson is doubtful with an ankle injury. But, manager Chris Hughton has a “long bench” and these missings should be adequate covered. 
Start of the season showed Newcastle’s clear ambition not to stay too much in the second tier. Big turbulence in the club about new owner, havn’t made serious impact to the players. Six wins from eight games launched them into direct promotion zone. But, they faced a big problems with injured players, lately. Excellent striker, Shola Ameobi broke his foot and won’t be in action for a while, while midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has a hamstring injury and also remains sidelined. New face at medical service is on-loan right-back Danny Simpson who picked a knock against Plymouth on Saturday and his appearance is doubtful. Another on-loan signing (and another defender), Zurab Khizanishvili, is ineligible for the game having already played in the second round of the competition for Blackburn. Beside these missings, boss Chris Hughton intends to rest some keys for Saturday’s trip to Ipswich and will give a chance to his youngsters, like Nile Ranger, Kazenga LuaLua, Tamas Kadar, Ryan Donaldson or Haris Vuckic. For the Magpies, return in the Premier is absolute priority. In the previous Cup’s round, they were struggling and defeated League One represent - Huddersfield Town 4-3, coming from two behind on the half-time. On the other hand, they surely won’t play with the club’s name and their pride. Peterborough should be beaten and that’s something what everyone expects from this game.
