1 LEEDS (80pts)
Leeds are falling apart again? Maybe. Having looked like the best team in the division for the vast majority of the season, Daniel Farke’s side have suddenly had a bit of a wobble, picking up just five points from their last four games. The weight of history will hang heavy, with Leeds having a wretched record in the play-offs, but their class should just about get them through. The calendar is also kind as they do not have to play a single other member of the current top six in their remaining eight games.
Key game: Middlesbrough (a, Apr 8)
Prediction: 1st
2 SHEFF UTD (80pts)
Given that they started the season with a two-point penalty, Sheffield United have amassed more points than anyone to this stage. Can they get over the line? Last weekend’s Steel City-derby win over Sheffield Wednesday proved their mettle, with Chris Wilder’s side now having won seven of their last nine matches. Their January transfer business has given them some real depth – Hamza Choudhury looks an especially astute addition – but they still have to go to Burnley. Might that prove crucial?
Key game: Burnley (a, Apr 21)
Prediction: 3rd
3 BURNLEY (78pts)
There hasn’t been much of a secret to Burnley’s success, with the Clarets having conceded just 11 goals in their 38 league matches. James Trafford has a strong claim to the Championship Player of the Season award thanks to his heroics in goal, and there’s nothing to suggest Burnley’s defensive reliability will disappear just because the pressure increases. Crucially, Scott Parker also appears to have found a better attacking mix in recent weeks, with Burnley having scored nine goals in their last four games. Might that enable them to overhaul Sheffield United?
Key game: Sheff Utd (h, Apr 21)
Prediction: 2nd
4 SUNDERLAND (69pts)
Are Sunderland now out of the race for the top two? Not quite, but last weekend’s thumping at Coventry left them 11 points adrift of the automatic-promotion positions, which is almost certainly too big a gap to bridge. If it is to be the play-offs, Regis Le Bris will have to manage the next month-or-so very carefully. Momentum has undoubtedly dipped, and while giving the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham a rest could be helpful, Sunderland need to be entering the play-offs having rediscovered their best form.
Key game: West Brom (a, Apr 5)
Prediction: 4th
5 COVENTRY (59pts)
Who’s questioning the appointment of Frank Lampard now? While it took the former England international a month or two to find his feet after he was announced as Mark Robins’ replacement, Lampard has overseen a run of ten wins in Coventry’s last 12 league games. That has seen the Sky Blues shoot up the table, and while next Friday’s trip to Bramall Lane will be a tough test of their credentials, they now look odds-on to make the play-offs. Assuming that happens, they might well be the team everyone wants to avoid.
Key game: Sheff Utd (a, Mar 28)
Prediction: 5th
6 WEST BROM (57pts)
Solid, but unspectacular. It’s a formula that’s worked for West Brom in the past, and it might just be good enough to secure Tony Mowbray’s side a place in the play-offs come the start of May. The Baggies are unbeaten in their last six games, but the fact that four of those matches have been drawn highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of the squad. Hard to break down, but lacking in firepower with Josh Maja having been out since January and unlikely to return for at least another few weeks.
Key game: Bristol C (a, Apr 8)
Prediction: 7th
7 BRISTOL CITY (57pts)
Bristol City have been the springers in the play-off battle in recent weeks, with a run of just one defeat from the last 11 games having taken them to the brink of the top six. The bulk of Liam Manning’s side have been together for quite a while now, and that sense of stability has undoubtedly helped. The likes of Mark Sykes and Nakhi Wells are playing as well as they ever have, but the schedule could be Bristol City’s undoing as they still have to take on Burnley, Watford, West Brom, Sunderland and Leeds.
Key game: West Brom (h, Apr 8)
Prediction: 8th
8 MIDDLESBROUGH (54pts)
It’s the hope that kills you. Having looked down and out at various stages this season, Middlesbrough are still in there fighting with eight games to go. Can Michael Carrick’s side scramble into the top six? They’ll have to improve on the last couple of months, but that’s possible with key defenders returning and the possibility of Ben Doak coming back from Liverpool to feature in the run-in. Beating Oxford and Plymouth at home is surely essential, with the final-day trip to Coventry having the potential to be decisive.
Key game: Coventry (a, May 3)
Prediction: 6th
9 BLACKBURN (52pts)
Having been in and around the play-off positions for most of the season, Blackburn have picked a bad time to nose-dive. Rovers have picked up just one point from their last five matches, with John Eustace’s departure in the middle of February clearly having caused considerable damage. Valerien Ismael is still finding his feet, but time is running out if Blackburn are going to arrest their decline. With Sunderland and Sheffield United two of their last three opponents, they are likely to fall short.
Key game: Middlesbrough (h, Apr 4)
Prediction: 11th
10 WATFORD (52pts)
Consistently inconsistent, Watford have to be regarded as outsiders for a play-off place. They boast some real quality in their side – Giorgi Chakvetadze has been one of the stars of the Championship season – but only seven teams in the whole of the division have conceded more goals than them and their defensive frailties are likely to prove decisive in the final reckoning. They could still play a key role in the battle for play-off places, though, as they have to travel to Bristol City, West Brom and Blackburn in their remaining eight games.
Key game: Bristol C (a, Apr 5)
Prediction: 10th
11 MILLWALL (51pts)
Of all the sides currently outside the top six, perhaps Millwall are the dark horses who could make a late charge. Their only dropped points in their last three games came at Elland Road, and as Sunderland fans will attest, Alex Neil is a wily old campaigner who knows what it takes to win promotion via the play-offs. Their squad lacks real class, but Josh Coburn is fit and firing again and no one will relish going to the Den for a must-win game. Ultimately, though, they’ve probably left things too late.
Key game: Sunderland (a, Mar 29)
Prediction: 9th
12 SHEFF WED (51pts)
Danny Rohl has spent most of the season telling anyone who would listen that his Sheffield Wednesday side aren’t ready for promotion, and he’s almost certainly going to be proved right. Losing at home to bitter rivals Sheffield United last time out felt like a hammer blow, and the six-point gap now separating the Owls from the play-off places feels unbridgeable, even if the remaining fixtures look relatively kind on paper.
Key game: Middlesbrough (h, Apr 21)
Prediction: 13th
