Crystal Palace v Bristol City, Saturday 12.15pm

Neil Warnock has shelved his plan to retire once his time at Crystal Palace is up following his remarkable success this season. "I know I said this would be my last job but I'm loving work so much right now that this isn't necessarily my last job anymore," he said. "With the squad we have at the club, we have the chance of becoming the success story of the season. I would love to manage in the Premier League again and my only thought at this moment in time is that I want to manage in the Premier League with Palace.

"I want to pit my wits against all the managers in the top flight. We want to be competing against the likes of Arsene Wenger - it will be great to go with a bunch of misfits and pit your wits against the best."

Warnock's squad dropped to second from bottom in the Coca-Cola Championship shortly after his appointment. But having been frustrated in the transfer market, the former Sheffield United manager was forced to dip into the youth team - with spectacular results.

"We've got some great youngsters coming through and when you get in the Premier League, you need a group of lads good enough because we couldn't go out and buy a Victor Moses, a Sean Scannell or a Lee Hills," Warnock said. "I would spend whatever money I had, and if I didn't have any money I would make do with what I had. But I don't agree with people saying it would be too early for us to go up. Nobody likes to be embarrassed - but you can't say you've gone up too early because the opportunities don't come round that regularly.

"The Premier League doesn't frighten me like it didn't frighten me to come here at the bottom of the Championship."

Matt Lawrence is unlikely to be risked tomorrow following his recent hernia operation, but he could be fit for Tuesday's second leg.

Gary Johnson, the Bristol City manager, believes his team can continue to defy their detractors in the play-offs. He thinks his side have already proved that the role of underdogs suits them, and he hopes that will be the case once more ahead of the semi-final first-leg against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

"All season people have been trying to write us off, expecting us to slip away," Johnson said. "But here we are still in with a chance of promotion. And people are still trying to write us off. It's just par for the course I guess. Even though there are only four teams involved, we are still not mentioned until late on.

"Maybe that suits us. I am hoping it will wind the lads up a little bit to put that little bit extra effort in. We have been something of a forgotten team all season and then somebody somewhere goes 'Bristol City are still doing alright.' Hopefully they will be saying that right up until the death."

Warnock has suggested in the build up to the semi-final that Bristol City are actually the favourites, claiming his side have already had a great season and that would remain the case whatever happens over the two legs. "Have you seen the size of his nose?," Johnson said. "And it is getting bigger all the time. He is good at motivating his players, but I would suggest what he feels inside is probably a bit different."

Marvin Elliott is fit after suffering a slight knock against Preston while Lee Johnson felt no ill-effects after returning from a heel injury as a second-half substitute. There was no word on the fitness of Steve Brooker following the striker's hamstring problems.

Watford v Hull City, Sunday, noon

Tommy Smith, the Watford striker, believes their recent form will count for nothing as they prepare to host Hull City in the first leg of the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs.

After a season in which they were favourites to claim one of the automatic promotion spots, an end-of-season run of just one win in their last 14 games has seen Aidy Boothroyd's team scrape into the play-offs - by just one goal - at the expense of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"That's the good thing about the play-offs," Smith said. "It's always great to have form, but in these situations it counts for nothing, everything goes out of the window and thankfully that will suit us right now.

"We didn't prove ourselves up there at Hull a few weeks ago, so it will be cathartic to put things right and there won't be any bigger stage to do it on than in the play-off semi-final.

"It would have been terrible not to have made it into the play-offs on the last day, but we always felt we would be capable of achieving that. The margin with which we secured our place just goes to show how important the little things are and how vital everyone's contribution is."