Key Takeaways
- Coventry City need one draw at Blackburn to end 25 years outside the top flight.
- Ipswich, Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough can all still finish second with five matches left.
- Southampton have won six league games in a row and face Ipswich next.
The Championship promotion picture is still a blur even though Coventry City are almost over the line.
Mark Robins’ side will clinch an instant return to the Premier League if they avoid defeat at Blackburn Rovers on Friday night, but the fight for the other automatic place is wide open.
Ipswich Town looked in control two days ago. They were two points clear with two games in hand. Then they lost 2-0 at Portsmouth and the door swung open for the chasing pack.
Millwall sit third, Southampton have charged into fourth after six straight wins, and Middlesbrough remain in the hunt despite one victory in their last eleven fixtures.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich still hold the best cards: ten points from their final five matches will guarantee second place. Yet their form has wobbled all spring, and Sunday’s visit of Middlesbrough now feels like a cup final. Full-back Leif Davis is expected to return, adding pace and balance to a side that has looked flat since the New Year.
Millwall, led by Alex Neil, have been the surprise story. A squad packed with seasoned campaigners clawed into second over Easter, and although back-to-back slips have dropped them to third, midfielder Massimo Luongo insists the Lions will stay calm. “We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low,” the Australian said. Four points from the last four games would lock up a play-off berth, yet Neil admits the target is still the top two.
No club is hotter than Southampton. When they lost at home to Hull in January they were fifteenth, winless in seven and only six points above the drop zone. Seventeen matches later they remain unbeaten, Tonda Eckert has rotated his squad with confidence, and a Wembley FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City looms. Ipswich still have to travel to St Mary’s, and Jobi McAnuff believes the Saints’ “free swing” mentality makes them dangerous.
Middlesbrough’s slump is harder to explain. Kim Hellberg’s team were top after a sixth consecutive win on 9 February, but three draws and three defeats in their last six have dragged them to fifth. A victory at Portman Road this weekend, however, would drag them right back into the race. “We’re good enough to win every game,” Hellberg insists.
With five fixtures left, the second promotion ticket could still go to any one of four clubs. Coventry may be ready to celebrate, but the rollercoaster ride is only getting faster for the rest.