In the first half of the cycle, 8,000 combined sales separate the two albums, according to the OCC.
Bruce Dickinson and Co. have five U.K. No. 1 albums from a 40-year career, with their latest two studio LPs Final Frontier (from 2010) and The Book of Souls (2015) going-back-to-back.
Meanwhile, Drake has three career U.K. No. 1 albums and, with CLB, he should snag his tenth Top 10.
Coming in at No. 3 on the albums chart blast is London rapper Little Simz’s Sometime I Might Be Introvert (Age 101), while Newcastle rockers The Wildhearts are set for a career high with 21st Century Love Songs (Graphite), new at No. 4 on the midweek chart.
Kanye West’s Donda (Def Jam) falls 1-5, as ABBA’s Gold (Polydor) is fueled by the Swedish pop greats’ comeback announcement and the release of two songs. The hits package lifts 12-6.
Further down the list, U.S. pop-rock outfit Imagine Dragons are flying to a fifth consecutive U.K. Top 10 album with Mercury – Act 1 (Interscope), new at No. 8 on the midweek survey, while Rudimental could grab a fourth stint in the top tier with Ground Control (Atlantic), arriving at No. 10.
Drizzy is chasing a seventh No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, with “Girls Want Girls” featuring Lil Baby taking pole position on the midweek chart, one of three Drake songs in the top four.
Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” (Asylum) slips to No. 2 and could lose its crown for the first time in 10 weeks.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles and Albums Charts are published late Friday, local time.
