Cardiff City boss Neil Harris feels his side have had the perfect preparation for facing Leeds United with two friendlies against Swansea City.
Leeds' Championship campaign restarts next week with a trip to the Welsh capital as the Whites look to secure promotion following a three-month pause due to the coronavirus.
Like the majority of the clubs in the Championship, Cardiff have worked friendly matches into their preparation for the restart - but they raised eyebrows after arranging two games against fierce rivals Swansea City.
Both matches ended in a draw and Harris felt the games were vital in preparing to face the Whites.
"Playing Swansea is about as close as we could have got to playing Leeds," he said to Wales Online after the double header with Swansea.
"It was vital. Me and Steve Cooper spoke before the game.
"We know the intense rivalry, the importance of the rivalry and we know what it means to both clubs and both sets of supporters.
"But logistically we could only play Cheltenham, Swansea and Bristol City in friendlies.
"We have Bristol City coming up in a few weeks, so it left us with Cheltenham and Swansea.
"You want to make the games as realistic as you possibly can. We have had such a short space of time to prepare.
"There were no referees and no linesmen, but the lads were brilliant and played in the right manner.
"As you can imagine they were two well-matched sides in very even contests. It was a really good exercise for me and Steve.
"Score-lines were not what either manager was interested in, but they were really competitive and we are just pleased to get the fitness in the legs.
"We just hope both sets of players will only have picked up absolutely minor knocks and niggles and everyone can train on Monday."
