It looks like the race for the UK’s Official Number 1 single will go right down to the wire this week.

According to Official Charts Company data, Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You is closing the gap on Harry Styles’ Sign Of The Times, now separated by just 8,000 units (downloads and streaming equivalent sales) in today’s sales flash (April 12) with two days of the chart race to go.

Earlier this week on the Official Chart Update, Harry had a lead of 15,500 over his closest competition, Sheeran’s Galway Girl. The gap between Harry and Ed has since halved, as reigning chart topper Shape Of You continues to be a runaway hit on streaming services, pushing it up from Monday’s position at Number 3 to Number 2 today.  However, Harry is performing well on downloads, currently outrunning Shape Of You by 3:1.  

The One Direction star’s debut release has so far racked up 47,000 copies across all formats, versus Shape Of You’s 39,000, and there’s still 48 hours to go in this week’s chart race.

Shape Of You has held the top spot on the Official Singles Chart for 13 weeks and is close to matching Drake’s mammoth 15-week run at Number 1 last year. The longest consecutive-week stint at the summit is Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, which managed 16 weeks in pole position in 1991. 

The final result of this week’s Official Singles Chart will be revealed on Friday, April 14 on BBC Radio 1’s Official Chart show from 4pm. The full Top 100 will posted on OfficialCharts.com.