Promotion play-offs: Examining the battle for coveted Premier League spot

There are few storylines to track as the Premier League approaches its final day of the 2017-18 season, so all eyes should be on the drama and downright cruelty of the Championship play-offs.

This year's quartet all boast top-flight experience within recent memory, and offer a blend of youthful, rhythmic attacking play with old-fashioned, muddy-kneed mayhem.

Here, theScore assesses each team ahead of what promises to be tense semi-final clashes prior to the play-off final on May 26.

Derby County vs. Fulham

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

First meeting: 2:45 p.m. ET on Friday at Pride Park

Second meeting: 2:45 p.m. ET on Monday at Craven Cottage

Fulham went 23 matches unbeaten before a sobering 3-1 defeat at Birmingham City to conclude its Championship campaign. There was an air of resignation to that loss, though: Cardiff City had strengthened its grip on the second automatic promotion place over the previous weeks, and the Cottagers, perhaps with an eye on the play-offs, looked to have lessened their tempo during that spell.

Slavisa Jokanovic should refer to last term's play-off semi-final defeat to Reading when preparing for 2018's installment against Derby County. Jaap Stam's side simply cut Fulham off at its creative source: Tom Cairney was restricted to one goal over the two matches, while Stefan Johansen and, to a lesser extent, Kevin McDonald were also crowded out.

With Fulham anticipating some copycat tactics from Derby, the capital club may lean on individual inspiration from teenage hotshot Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has 12 goals in 17 league outings since joining on loan from Newcastle United.

Derby, meanwhile, beat its annual flirtation with disaster to record seven points in its final three matches and clinch the final play-off berth. The Rams' upturn in fortunes could be attributed to changing its 4-2-3-1 shape to something closely resembling a 3-4-2-1. Reading also used a back-three against Fulham last season.

The lurking worry for Derby fans is their team's tendency to falter, and also the errors that never seem far away. The usually dependable Richard Keogh was hapless in March's 4-1 home loss to Sunderland, and the whole defence went AWOL two weeks later in a 3-1 reverse to league minnow Burton Albion. Those mistakes will be punished by Fulham.

Middlesbrough vs. Aston Villa

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

First meeting: 12:15 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Riverside Stadium

Second meeting: 2:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Villa Park

One of the unlikeliest love affairs in the Championship has been between Tony Pulis and Adama Traore. Traore appears to be the antithesis of Pulis' conservative philosophy: He has bags of pace and technical ability in droves, but his tactical brain is questionable. For Pulis, a man who insists on defence-heavy, repetitive training sessions, Traore's lingering habit of squandering possession and over-elaborating would usually merit a spot on the tracksuited tactician's bench.

But Middlesbrough is tailored to Traore's qualities, opening an unexpected chapter to Pulis' coaching career. The Barcelona product is entertaining to watch, but a criticism could be that the Teesiders are far too one-dimensional when the go-to pass is often to his flank. It may also be a product of Boro not being truly Pulisfied yet: He was only appointed on Boxing Day, and from the date of his first match in charge saw Middlesbrough only concede two fewer goals than relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.

Man for man, Aston Villa may have the strongest play-off team. The experience of central defensive pairing John Terry and James Chester is unmatched by any other Championship side, and there are a raft of options in attack. Robert Snodgrass, the 30-year-old loanee from West Ham United, has been sublime cutting onto his favoured left foot from the right flank - he scored seven and assisted 14 times in 40 appearances - and Jack Grealish has been transformed from a waif-like winger to a bulked-up attacking midfielder. The superb Albert Adomah, another winger by trade, finished as the club's top scorer with 14 goals.

With a squad like that, you wonder why Aston Villa didn't challenge for automatic promotion, but its push for the Premier League comes amid the toughest few months of Steve Bruce's life. There were calls for the veteran manager's sack following some woeful early-season performances, but by far the most punishing demand on Bruce has been dealing with the death of both parents in the matter of weeks.

"It has, without a doubt, been the toughest period of my life," he shared with The Telegraph's Luke Edwards. "You know, I'm not one of these where football is everything in my life. It never has been and there have always been things that are more important to me."