WITH THE BULK of the teams having played 40 games and with it now being under a month until the final regular day on Sunday 5 May, the Championship season in England is entering the home straight.
Four clubs have seven games remaining with the rest having just six ties left and for just over half of the teams in the division, the dream of gaining promotion to the Premier League next season is arguably still alive.
For some the ambitions are stronger than others, like Norwich City who sit on top with a healthy seven point advantage while Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City in 12th and 13th respectively would need a chain of results to fall their way in order to claim that last play-off spot.
Yet there’s a lot still to play for and the next fortnight will be a decisive. A full round of games take place over the course of tomorrow night and Wednesday night, along with a set of fixtures this weekend and a big double-bill of action on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
And with plenty of members of Mick McCarthy’s Ireland squad in contention, there’ll be no shortage of interest in their fortunes at this critical stage of the season.
Automatic promotion hopefuls
Norwich City (84 points) are currently in the driving seat, thanks to a run of eight straight wins stretching back to mid-February. A 4-0 at home to QPR on Saturday confirmed their superiority with Finnish striker Teemu Pukki taking his total to 26 league goals in a brilliant individual showing this season. With four of their next five games against teams in the bottom half, they’re looking good to have clinched automatic promotion before the last day tie with Aston Villa.
The battle to join them in the top two looks to be a straight fight between Sheffield United (77 points) and Leeds United (76 points). The Yorkshire duo are battling it out with Sheffield United’s 1-0 win on Saturday over Preston seeing them overtake a Leeds team that lost 1-0 to Birmingham City.
Ireland trio John Egan, Enda Stevens and David McGoldrick are all regulars in the Sheffield United side with the latter netting on Saturday, while Scott Hogan is also on loan at Bramall Lane. Their fixture list looks more favourable than that facing Leeds with one of the duo looking certain to contest the play-offs. Fourth-placed West Brom (70 points), who have Wes Hoolahan in their squad, still have a shout at going straight up but would need the pair above them to both hit a slump in form.
In the hunt for the play-offs
Let us assume that Sheffield United or Leeds United take third place and that leaves three play-off spots up for grabs. The play-off final is scheduled for Monday 27 May at Wembley with the dates for the two-legged semi-finals, which will be played after 5 May, still to be finalised. Third place plays sixth in one semi-final with the fourth place facing fifth place in the other. They are played on a home and away basis with the away goals rule not applying.
West Brom are in a strong position barring a big drop in form to take one of the play-off places and have picked up 10 points out of 15 in their last five games. Then it all becomes more tightly congested in the pursuit of those last two places.
Aston Villa (63 points) in fifth place are on a superb run that has seen them win their last six games, including two goals in stoppage time on Saturday that sealed a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday. Irish midfielders Glenn Whelan and Conor Hourihane are both involved with Dean Smith’s side aiming for a return to the top tier that they departed when relegated in 2016.
Bristol City (62 points) currently occupy the last spot with Derby County (60 points) just outside it in seventh place. Callum O’Dowda (Bristol City) and Richard Keogh (Derby County) fly the Irish flag here for a pair of clubs that do both have a game in hand on those above them with those taking place before the final day as Bristol City are away to Millwall on Tuesday 30 April and Derby County are away to Swansea on Wednesday 1 May.
There’s a bunch of clubs then hoping that a late season charge can bring them into the reckoning. Middlesbrough (58), Nottingham Forest, Preston North End and Hull City (all 57) fill the positions from 8th-11th. The outsiders are Sheffield Wednesday (56 points) in 12th and Swansea City (53) in 13th but they would need a lot to fall their way to deliver an improbable play-off spot.
Darren Randolph (Middlesbrough), the Preston trio of Sean Maguire, Alan Browne and Callum Robinson, Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood and former Ireland striker Daryl Murphy (Nottingham Forest) represent the Irish interest here.
There’s six games down for decision in the Championship tomorrow night and four on Wednesday, the start of a phase that will have a defining impact on the season.
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