It was a fascinating weekend of Championship football as the pressure intensifies at both ends of the table – here, we took our regular look at the drama that unfolded and how the results affected the League table, as the scramble for promotion and avoiding relegation hots up :
FULHAM FLYING AS WOLVES HUNTED DOWN
No team is handling the promotion push pressure than Fulham who, in their last three games, have faced teams all in the top six – and come away with seven points from the possible nine. Their latest victory was a home win over runaway leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers, despatching them 2-0 thanks to goals from wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksander Mitrovic. Although the three points keeps them in fifth place in the Championship table, they are now just a point behind Derby and four behind Villa in third. Up next for Fulham…..away at Derby.
BLUEBIRDS CONTINUE TO FLY HIGH
Cardiff, after a sticky patch, have been rejuvenated over their last five games, winning four of them and conceding just one goal in the process. Their win over Bristol City was their fourth win on the bounce and has sent them clear in second place – now being four points clear of Aston Villa and, due to their aforementioned loss to Fulham, now just six points behind Wolves. Their upcoming schedule of Brentford (A), Barnsley (H) and Birmingham (H) looks very favourable….by the time those fixtures are done for Cardiff, their escape from the Championship may be very, very close.
LEEDS FINALLY GET A WIN
It’s been a chaotic time at Elland Road, with new boss Paul Heckingbottom taking over a club in apparent disarray – but after coming close to a win at Pride Park, Leeds finally captured three points by seeing off Brentford in front of their own vociferous fans. Liam Cooper’s first half effort was enough for Leeds to take the win – and despite this being their only win in their last ten games, they remain in the Championship play-off mix…sitting just five points behind Bristol City in sixth – albeit having four other team above them also chasing the Robins hard. However, tough games at Middlesbrough and hosting Wolves mean its going to take all that Yorkshire pride to keep themselves in with a chance of the top 6.
NORTH EAST DERBY DOESNT FAIL TO DELIVER
Its rare that any permutation of game between Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough ends up in a boring, mundane affair, no matter what the state of the clubs involved or which Division the game is played in. Saturday’s Championship game at the Stadium of Light was another fine example of that…two sendings off, two lead changes, a penalty, six goals shared and the final equaliser coming five minutes into injury time. Great entertainment for the near on 30,000 crowd there to witness it – with Sunderland no doubt being the happier of the two teams come the end of the match, although the point gained keeps them rooted at the bottom of the Championship table.
NOT MUCH HOME COMFORT
Of the twelve Championship fixtures at the weekend, only four teams won at home, with away teams winning five times, the other three ending in draws. Nottingham Forest arrested their own shocking run of form, putting five past QPR, whilst Barnsley breathed much needed life into their own chances of survival by winning at Birmingham. Millwall’s excellent run of form continued as they were the latest team to take three points away from Burton Albion, and giving them an outside chance of a play off place. Aston Villa and Ipswich were the other teams to travel back home with three points safely in their grasp.
JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR OUR NEXT LOOK AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP – AND LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW!