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The Championship promotion race: Who will make it to the Premier League?
A week is a long time in football, especially in the Championship.
This time last week, it looked like momentum had truly swung Middlesbrough's way.
Top of the table off the back of six straight wins, whilst Coventry, who looked almost unstoppable for the early part of the season, had derailed and been knocked off their perch for the first time in four months.
But after without a win in their last two, Middlesbrough knew a win against a struggling Leicester, who themselves were without a win in their last seven in the league, would put them level on points with Coventry, ahead of their trip to Sheffield United on Wednesday night.
But they were unable to capitalise after a 1-1 draw at the Riverside, and Coventry picking up three points the next evening meant that the gap between the two title contenders is now five.
The chasing pack(Getty Images)
Whilst most of the talk involves Coventry and Middlesbrough predominantly, if one or both of them were to slip up, then others could look to take their spot.
Although only five points separate the rest of the current playoff places, the challenge from those below looked to be diminishing.
All of Millwall, Ipswich, and Hull lost at the weekend to sides below them, but all managed to pick up three crucial points during the midweek fixtures. Millwall dispatched Birmingham 3-0 at The Den, whilst Ipswich and Hull dispatched Watford and Derby, respectively.
Although questions still loom over Ipswich, despite them only being six points off the automatic promotion spots.
Since their relegation from the Premier League last season, the talk around The Tractor Boys has been that they would be a dominant force in the league and go on a run, but that's yet to come to fruition.
They've only managed to win multiple games in a row just once this season, and according to the xG table, they would be just three points off Coventry, highlighting their inconsistency up to this point in the season. Although they're eight points off Middlesbrough with two games in hand, it doesn't seem too likely they could close that gap.
As for Hull, a win against Derby stopped the rot after being without a win in their last three, dropping points against QPR, Bristol City, and Watford, after just losing one of their last 10 in the league.
The Tigers boast one of the best attacks in the league, with only Coventry and Ipswich scoring more than them. However, it's their defensive record that may hinder their promotion charge, shipping 48 goals, the most of any side in the top half and even more than 23rd-place Oxford United.
Where it will be won and lost(C)Getty images
Looking into the remaining fixtures for the promotion hopefuls, Coventry will hope to have promotion wrapped up or near done when they face Wrexham at the CBSA in the penultimate game of the season, and the only other team chasing promotion they'll face is Hull on Easter Monday.
Middlesbrough have a slightly tougher run-in, as they face Millwall, Ipswich, and Wrexham in their final seven games of the season, so they will hope to have a cushion on those below them if they were to drop points.
If Millwall are to keep in touching distance of the top two, they'll need to get results against some of their promotion rivals, facing Hull, Ipswich, and Middlesbrough within a month of each other.
Although Ipswich have two games in hand on those around them, they'll not want to be doing much chasing for the remainder of the season, as they host Hull, Ipswich, and Middlesbrough in the remainder of the fixtures.
Hull's playoff hopes could be dwindling if they're unable to pick up points against any of Ipswich, Millwall, and Wrexham, whom they play in a row over March, before hosting Coventry over the Easter weekend.
Getty Images
Prediction
Although there are still over two months to go left in the season, it feels like Coventry should have promotion or even the league wrapped up before the last couple of weekends, and barring disaster or previous memories coming back to bite them, they should do it. But in the Championship, nothing is for certain.
I think Middlesbrough will join them in the automatic promotion spaces come the end of the season. They have one of the better squads in the league in terms of quality, and even with a manager who's not as experienced as others, he and his squad have shown they can step up when it matters.
But it will be close, with Ipswich and Millwall closely behind them. Where I think Ipswich will lose ground will be the catch-up they'll have to play in the coming weeks.
And as for Millwall, similar to Coventry, they will need to get over the hump of previous years and faltering at the end when it matters most, but this year, I believe it will be theirs, and they will get promoted to the Premier League via the playoffs.
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