Haim and Justin Timberlake in UK album chart battle

Pop star Justin Timberlake and US band Haim are locked in one of the closest chart battles for years, with Haim just 28 copies behind Timberlake in the race to have the UK's number one album.

Between Sunday and Thursday, Timberlake sold 26,445 copies of The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2, according to the Official Charts Company.

Californian sisters Haim were on 26,417 with their debut album Days Are Gone.

Sales count until midnight on Saturday, with the number one named on Sunday.

Justin Timberlake's previous three albums have all gone to number one in the UK

Timberlake has reached the top spot with each of his other three albums, most recently the first part of his 20/20 Experience opus, which was released in March.

Haim are hoping to follow their victory on the BBC Sound of 2013 list in January by going straight to number one with their first full release.

On the singles chart, the Official Charts Company said OneRepublic's Counting Stars was catching current front-runners The Vamps, who are on course for their first chart-topper with Can We Dance.