Leicester City are running away at the top of the Championship as they look to seal an immediate return to the top flight. But, the race for promotion is still red-hot below them, with three teams still in the picture to finish second, and a possible 10 still dreaming of making the play-offs.
Leicester have accumulated a stunning 78 points from 32 games and are 12 points clear of Leeds United in second. All three relegated sides from last season’s Premier League occupy the top three spots of the second tier, with Southampton right behind.
Russell Martin’s team were on a remarkable 22 game unbeaten run until defeat at Bristol City, which has kept them on the heels of Leeds, who themselves are on a seven-league-match winning streak and two points ahead.
Embed from Getty ImagesIpswich Town have taken their momentum of promotion from League One last season to take the Championship by storm. Kieran McKenna’s side’s form has dipped of late, winning two of their last ten league games, but they still sit comfortably in the play-off places and are three points off second with a game in hand.
Without the parachute payments that there three promotion rivals have taken, it would be a phenomenal story for Ipswich to crash the party and take an automatic promotion spot. McKenna, a former Manchester United coach, is making a real name for himself in English football making the Premier League a certain destination for him with or without Town.
Eleven points below Ipswich are West Brom in fifth. With a four point cushion over sixth place, the Baggies have been going well under boss Carlos Corberan. The Spaniard led Huddersfield to the play-off final against Nottingham Forest in 2022 and could be at it again.
Embed from Getty ImagesWest Brom are on a run of five wins from their last eight games, but if anyone knows the Championship, it is that the play-off picture is never done til the final day ends.
That is because the competition behind them is rife. Four points below West Brom sit Coventry, Norwich, Hull and Preston, all locked on 48 points, with Sunderland just a point behind on 47. With 14 games of the season left, it is anyone’s guess as to who is going to finish in fifth and sixth place.
Bristol City (44), Watford (41), Middlesbrough (41), and Cardiff (40) in 14th are all in touching distance, and a run of form could springboard them back into the mix. That’s why the Championship is a breathtaking and unpredictable league, anyone can really beat anyone.
Embed from Getty ImagesEnzo Maresca is proving to be another successful ‘Pep disciple’ leading the league at a canter with Leicester, who really have a Premier League quality squad in a league below. Leeds’ Daniel Farke, a two-time promotion winner, will be head-to-head with Martin who is yet to achieve that feat in his managerial career.
Meanwhile, Ipswich are still dreaming of a Premier League return for the first time in 22 years. If anything is certain in the Championship, it is that the promotion race will be full of drama from now until May.
