Eminem has a good chance of finally knocking Ed Sheeran off the top of the charts this week with his single River.
The rapper’s track has spent three weeks at number two but it has risen to number one in the mid-week charts, and is currently 3,000 downloads and streaming equivalent sales ahead of Sheeran’s reigning chart-topper Perfect.
River, taken from Eminem’s number one album Revival, also features vocals from Sheeran.
If it succeeds this week, it will become the US musician’s ninth UK number one single.
Perfect, which was the Christmas number one and started the year in pole position, is currently at number two on the Official Singles Chart.
Craig David’s I Know You, featuring Bastille, has jumped seven places to number three, while rapper Ramz’s Barking is in fourth place and Tip Toe by Jason Derulo and French Montana rounds off the top five.
Meanwhile, singer Camila Cabello is on track to score the week’s highest new entry over on the Official Albums Chart.
The former Fifth Harmony star’s debut album Camila is at number two, behind last week’s number one, The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
The musical film’s cast recording, which includes vocals from stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Zendaya, is leading this week’s chart by 5,000 combined sales, keeping Cabello off the top spot.
However, if Havana singer Cabello does remain in the top five, she will have trumped her previous success with Fifth Harmony.
The US girl group’s highest-charting album in the UK was their 2016 record 7/27, which peaked at number six.
Sheeran’s Divide is in third place at the mid-week stage, above Sam Smith’s The Thrill Of It All at number four and Eminem’s Revival at number five.