The two competitors are separated by just 36 points on the leaderboard, with Rydzek leading with 1,390.

Rydzek, who won four gold medals at the recent FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Lahti in Finland, is in pole position for his maiden World Cup title.

Frenzel, the Olympic individual normal hill champion, is aiming to make history as the first athlete to win five Nordic Combined World Cups in a row.

The destination of the title is unlikely to be confirmed this weekend, although the formidable pair will both be hoping to move a huge step closer to the title.

The penultimate competition of the campaign is scheduled to be held in Trondheim on Tuesday (March 14) and Wednesday (March 15), with the finals set to take place in Schonach in Switzerland from March 18 to 19. 

Organisers have today given the green light for the Schonach event following concerns over high temperatures and a lack of natural snow.

They have been able to prepare the hill and a cross-country track for the competition, although they have been forced to shorten the course from 2.5 kilometres to 1.5km.

"Snow controller Joachim Bruder reported that the jumping hill is in perfect condition and well prepared," a FIS statement read. 

"In terms of the cross-country track, the situation was not easy. 

"The Organising Committee has been able to prepare a 1.5km course for the races, a 2.5km course as usual was not possible due to the weather situation."