A monumental penultimate weekend of the Championship season is on the horizon, with the title, two Play-Off spots and all three relegation places still undecided.
Promotion Race Over
Burnley and Leeds United secured Premier League football next season, after the Clarets defeated their closest competitors, Sheffield United, on Monday evening. Leeds United put six past Stoke City at Elland Road earlier in the day, thanks to a twenty-minute hat-trick from Joe Piroe. And the Clarets secured their return to the top-flight on home soil with three points against Chris Wilder’s outfit.
Only the title remains up for grabs, with the top two locked on 94 points. Daniel Farke’s Leeds will have their eyes set on reaching 100 points, with Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle to play. But Scott Parker’s side, aiming to equal Reading’s 33-game unbeaten record, will be ready to capitalise against Queens Park Rangers and Millwall. Meanwhile, Sheffield United have failed to win all nine Play-Off campaigns they have participated in, the worst record of any side in the competition’s history.
Play-Off Battle
The Blades will face one of seven sides that can still make the final two Play-Off places. The two outsiders, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion, are in contrasting form. Five successive wins have given the South Wales outfit an extremely small shot at sixth place, while Albion’s hopes are all but over following five losses in six games. Two victories are required for both, with the Swans also needing a ten-goal swing, and they face fellow competitors Millwall on Saturday. The Lions have won four from five to sit three points adrift of Coventry, while Blackburn Rovers have had a similarly good run with three straight wins. Valérien Ismaël takes the Lancashire outfit to former club Watford this weekend.
It was a disastrous Monday for the three most likely sides to finish fifth and sixth. The two teams currently occupying those positions, Bristol City and Coventry City, lost at relegation-threatened Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle, respectively. Middlesbrough couldn’t take advantage, losing late on against Sheffield Wednesday. Boro face Norwich City after the Sky Blues have played Luton in the lunchtime kick-off, hoping to learn from Bristol City’s showing at Kenilworth Road. The Robins know that a win on Monday evening at Elland Road will seal their top-six place, but defeats for Middlesbrough, Millwall and Blackburn would also be enough. It is less straightforward for Coventry, with three points only enough if the first two of the above-mentioned clubs lose. A loss for the Sky Blues guarantees the battle will go to the final day, while a point is only good enough if Boro and Millwall lose and Rovers fail to win.
Relegation Race Undecided
Basement side Plymouth Argyle kept their faint survival hopes alive by beating Coventry on Monday, needing the same result against Preston North End, who are firmly in the relegation mix. A defeat for the Pilgrims, coupled with a point for either Luton or Derby County, will relegate Miron Muslić’s side. Cardiff City are level on points with the South-West outfit; therefore defeat against West Brom would also send them down. Wins for both would take survival down to the final day.
Luton cannot drop into League One this weekend, but know that a positive result against Coventry will take the Hatters out of the bottom three. That is at least until Saturday afternoon, when Derby County play the side a place and two points above them, Hull City. Oxford United will be safe with a victory over Sunderland, while Stoke City need the same result tomorrow evening against Sheffield United to join anyone from Portsmouth and above in avoiding relegation.
