Ipswich Town leads Championship; promotion race is tight with Leeds and Leicester close behind. Matthew Upson has given his prediction on the Championship promotion battle.
The two automatic promotion places are still up for grabs with just a handful of games remaining in the regular campaign. Ipswich Town lead the way at the top of the table, but third place Leicester City are just two points behind and hold a game in hand.
| Championship Table (As it stands April 2nd) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Ipswich Town | 40 | 33 | 87 |
| 2 | Leeds United | 40 | 44 | 86 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 39 | 42 | 85 |
| 4 | Southampton | 38 | 25 | 74 |
| 5 | West Brom | 40 | 23 | 68 |
| 6 | Norwich City | 40 | 14 | 64 |
| 7 | Coventry City | 39 | 17 | 60 |
| 8 | Preston North End | 39 | -3 | 59 |
Southampton are 12 points behind the Tractor Boys following their 3-2 loss at Portman Road on Monday, but they hold two games in hand.
Jeremy Sarmiento’s late stoppage time winner against the Saints maintained the Suffolk outfit’s one point advantage over second place Leeds United.
Upson makes Championship promotion race prediction
Upson has predicted that Leicester and Leeds will earn the two automatic promotion places.
However, he believes Ipswich will bring the fight until the end in what should be a very tense last few weeks of the term.
“I just have a feeling for Leeds,” said Upson via Betway.
“I’ve watched them a couple of times this season, and I think they’ve got great depth in their squad.
“They’ve got goals throughout the team.
“I think Leeds will go up in an automatic place.
“This might be foolish, but I have to say Leicester City will go up with them as well.
“But I know how good Ipswich are, and they won’t go away.”
The Championship promotion picture
The three sides that suffered relegation from the Premier League last season are all chasing a place back in the top flight this year.
But Ipswich have been able to keep pace with the former top flight sides, and are even ahead of them all in the table with just six games left.
Leicester held a significant advantage over their rivals until a poor run of form in recent weeks allowed Leeds and Ipswich to catch up.
Southampton were also in the mix, but defeats to Ipswich, Millwall and Hull City have hurt their chances of a top two spot.
Meanwhile, West Brom and Norwich City also occupy a top six place in the battle to qualify for the play-offs.
The top three are all guaranteed a top six finish if they do miss out on automatic promotion, and the Saints are also very likely to earn a place in the promotion shootout as well.
Ipswich are also aiming to achieve back-to-back promotions, having come up from League One in the last year.
No team has achieved that feat since Eddie Howe guided Bournemouth from League One to the Premier League in 2015.
A thrilling end to the Championship
It is all teed up nicely for it to be a thrilling end to the Championship season.
The win over Southampton at Portman Road highlighted Ipswich’s fighting spirit, and made it clear to Leicester and Leeds that they will not back down.
It is difficult to predict how it will end up, and the top three could all end up earning over 100 points, which would be a ludicrous points tally.
Southampton have performed well this season, but they could yet find themselves coming fourth with 90 points, highlighting how competitive the promotion race has been this year.
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