CHAMPIONSHIP STATE OF PLAY AS RACE FOR PREMIER LEAGUE AND RELEGATION BATTLE GO TO WIRE

There remain just two weekends left of the Championship's regular season and only nine teams have nothing but pride to play for.

The battles across automatic promotion, the play-offs and survival are well underway and increasingly tight. Each will likely go down until the final day of competition.

Three sides are set to finish on more than 90 points this term, while Southampton are the only team who can begin to prepare for the play-offs. Teams 17th and below are at threat of plying their trade in League One next season and face sleepless nights with two matches remaining.

With this in mind, Mirror Football have taken a look at what remains in a mouthwatering end to 2023/24 across the automatic promotion battle, the play-off race and the relegation dogfight in the Championship.

Automatic promotion

Leicester's win over Southampton has left a three-way battle for the two spots. The Foxes will be hopeful of earning the title but aren't yet guaranteed promotion as Leeds and Ipswich follow closely on their tails.

Enzo Maresca's side are four points clear at the top, and five points ahead of Ipswich, though the Tractor Boys have an additional game in hand. Leicester have three fixtures remaining, each against an opponent with something left to play for - no easy task.

Leeds will require one of their rivals to slip up to earn a first-time return to the Premier League. They will be hopeful of six points from their final two fixtures after a dramatic 4-3 victory away to Middlesbrough turned around their momentum following defeat to Blackburn.

Play-off push

Southampton will be joined by one of the sides looking to secure automatic promotion in the play-offs with two spots remaining up for grabs. West Brom and Norwich currently sit six points clear of Hull, and nine points clear of Coventry. The Tigers hold one game in hand and have three games remaining, while FA Cup semi-finalists Coventry have two games in hand, albeit with one against Ipswich.

Wednesday sees the two teams currently outside of the play-off places face off with defeat for either side all but ensuring another year in the Championship. For everyone else, final-day drama could remain.

Relegation battle

There are no shortage of teams still fighting for their lives with Rotherham the only team confirmed to be relegated so far in 2023/24. Seven sides - Stoke, QPR, Blackburn, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham and Huddersfield - will all hope for Championship survival with six points separating the Terriers from the Potters with two games remaining.

Stoke and QPR are both four points away from the relegation zone and a win, or a defeat for Birmingham, will ensure both side's safety. The Blues take on Huddersfield next and defeat would see the Yorkshire side relegated.

However the results fall this weekend, the battle to stay up is guaranteed to go down to the final day.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

2024-04-24T11:19:32Z dg43tfdfdgfd