Craig Ramage reckons Derby County's trip to Burton Albion next month should be a "gimme" for the visitors.
Ramage, who played for the Rams between 1988 and 1994, says his old side need to take maximum points from their matches against relegation-threatened trio Sunderland, Burton and Barnsley before the end of the regular season.
Derby have seen their promotion push falter after a seven-game winless streak, although they will hope that run is at an end when they head to the Pirelli Stadium on April 14, a return to East Staffordshire for former Brewers manager Gary Rowett.
Rowett has watched his side slip from second in the Championship in mid-February to sixth in the table now.
The pressure is on for the former Brewer, who held the positon of player, coach and manager during his time at the Pirelli before departing for Birmingham City in October 2014.
And Ramage reckons Burton should provide a step in the direction of the play-offs for Derby given Albion's lack of home form in 2017-18.
His confidence comes despite Burton's defeat of the Rams in the only competitive meeting between the two sides at the Pirelli last August, with Jackson Irvine nodding home the opener in a 1-0 victory for Nigel Clough over his old side.
"I've put down four wins and two draws - 77 points and we might scrape into sixth with that," he told BBC Radio Derby.
"I'm looking at the teams we've got to play - Sunderland is a banker and I think that'll be a nice one to come back to after a nice little break for the players.
"We'll be getting a couple of fit players back and everybody's turning Sunderland over, so if we do that right we should win that one.
"I look at Burton, that should be a gimme as well. If it'd have been at Pride Park it might be a different story, but at home Burton are struggling.
"You look at Barnsley, we should be beating them as well at home.
"There's three there where we should be looking at really stamping our mark and getting nine points."
The Rams won the return fixture at Pride Park this season on December 2, with Johnny Russell's late strike decisive in a 1-0 triumph over Albion.
