Over the weekend, the fight for automatic promotion to the Premier League brought quite a few recent twists, and the fate of the rivals was different.
Leaders Ipswich, second-placed Leicester and third-placed Leeds are separated by just two points and the Foxes have played one game less, while Southampton, who’ve two games in hand against Tractor Boys and United, are six points behind.
In this text, the PA news agency looks at the remaining weeks of the increasingly tense run-up to the Championship.
Ipswich (1st, 43 games played, 89 points, +32 goal difference)
Lapping: Hull (a), Coventry (a), Huddersfield (h).
Ipswich are unlikely to tip towards further promotion in recent weeks after a remarkable run of nine wins from 10 Championship appearances was snapped by derby rivals Norwich.
A 1-0 defeat at Carrow Road on April 6 was followed by draws at home to Watford and Middlesbrough, and Town must rediscover the form that earned manager Kieran McKenna the Championship Manager of the Season on Sunday evening in the event that they are to succeed in the top flight.
However, all three remaining opponents still have something to play for, with Hull and Coventry each on the fringes of the play-off race and Huddersfield desperately fighting to avoid relegation.
Leicester (2nd, played 42, 88 points, +41 goal difference)
Arrival: West Brom (hours), Southampton (hours), Preston (a), Blackburn (hours).
After seemingly assured return to the top flight after one season in the desert – Enzo Maresca’s side were 17 points ahead of Leeds – Leicester suffered a crisis of confidence at the unsuitable time.
A 2-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough on February 17 began a run of 10 league games, culminating in a 1-0 defeat to Plymouth on Friday night, in which the team lost six times and took just 10 of the 30 available points.
Their fate stays in their very own hands, nevertheless, and with three of their last 4 matches happening at the King Power Stadium – perhaps the most significant of which is the visit of Saints next week – they will probably be hoping to capitalize on the home advantage .
Leeds (third, 43 games played, 87 points, +42 goal difference)
Lapping: Middlesbrough (a), QPR (a), Southampton (h).
Like the two clubs directly above them in the table, Leeds collapsed at the most inopportune moment.
A 2-1 defeat at Coventry on April 6 was their first league defeat since the turn of the 12 months, and three days later Daniel Farke’s men lost at home to Elland Road for the first time this season. On Saturday, Sammie Szmodics fired Blackburn to victory in West Yorkshire.
Monday’s trip to Middlesbrough will probably be followed by one other away match against QPR, before Southampton travel north for a final clash that could possibly be decisive in the promotion race.
Southampton (played 41, 81 points, +27 goal difference)
Arrival: Preston (h), Cardiff (a), Leicester (a), Stoke (h), Leeds (a).
Southampton’s bad run got here in February once they lost to Bristol City, Hull and Millwall either side of a 2-0 win over West Brom in the space of 12 days.
A run of 4 wins and only one defeat in their last seven games, including Saturday’s 3-2 last-gasp victory over Watford, has seen them back on the pitch, but points on the board in the final stages of the season are precious and Saints are catching up.
Russell Martin’s men face difficult trips to Leicester and Leeds, but their case will end in failure in the event that they fall into theoretically less taxing games against Preston, Cardiff and Stoke.
Credit : www.independent.co.uk