The Championship is mental. How else to describe the manic ups and downs, ins and outs and constant comings and goings of the world’s most competitive league. With just six points separating first place to seventh, the run-in promises to be sensational. As squeaky bum time approaches, we’ve run the rule over the top six in the mix just before they start to go toe to toe in the battle for Premier League status.
Bournemouth: 66 Points
Go back to the end of last year and like their south coast neighbours Southampton, the Cherries were on a crest of a wave. Eddie Howe’s boys were scoring goals for fun and sat on top of the Championship tree for several weeks. Then the Cherries found themselves pulled back into the chasing pack after enduring a horrible February in which they only won one game in six. A close fought win over Wolves midweek and the a 5-1 thrashing of Fulham this week saw them back on top and perfectly positioned to make a kick off the final bend.
KEY MAN: Callum Wilson
Derby County: 66 Points
Steve McClaren is not a stranger to pressure. He did famously disappear under an umbrella as England head coach but has since resurrected his managerial career with the Rams, after a successful stint at FC Twente in the Dutch league. Utilising his contacts, McClaren has assembled a team of honest journeymen and a few young bucks with splash of Premier League experience. The Rams have gone off the boil recently with key injuries to Darren Bent and Chris Martin blunting their cutting edge upfront and have not won any of their last three games and threw away a two-goal lead against Birmingham City on Saturday. They look vulnerable at the moment and need to bounce back quickly.
KEY MAN: Tom Ince
Watford: 66 Points
The goal scored against Fulham in a 1-0 win earlier this week was Watford’s 70th goal of the season, making them the highest scoring team in English football. With 12 wins in their last 16, it’s a far cry from the early season turmoil which saw four head coaches appointed in 37 days. Whether Slavisa’s Jokanovic’s Hornets can maintain their attacking panache as the pressure kicks in is yet to be seen but a play-off place looks likely with a relatively good run of fixtures coming up. A hard fought draw at Molineux was good enough to keep the Wolves from the door.
KEY MAN: Troy Deeney
Middleborough: 66 Points
Aitor Karanka was once Jose Mourinho’s number two at Real Madrid. The Spaniard will need to take a leaf out of his old mentor’s book if he wants to gain automatic promotion this season. His Boro team, with its blend of youth and experience, are arguably the most balanced team in the frame. Their fantastic run in the FA Cup show-cased their quality but may have distracted the team from the bread and butter of the league. A defeat at the hands of a rejuvenated Forest on Saturday was a body blow but their home form is strong and should hold them in good stead for the battle ahead.
KEY MAN: Patrick Bamford
Norwich: 65 Points
When 33-year-old Alex Neil took over from Gary Holt as head coach of Norwich at the turn of the year many eyebrows were raised. Two months later, the Canaries have risen Phoenix-like up the league with a momentum that suggested they could be come up on the rails and nab a top two finish. Saturday’s hard fought victory in the Old Farm derby was their eighth win in 10 games and enabled them to leap-frog Ipswich in the table. Unfortunately, they lost ground by losing at home to relegation candidates Wigan during the week but bounced back by thumping a struggling Millwall at the weekend.
KEY MAN: Bradley Johnson
Brentford: 62 Points
What to make of the curious happenings down at Griffin Park? Along with Bournemouth, the Bees remain the season’s surprise package. Strangely, just when things were going in a upwardly mobile fashion, the club announced that manager Mark Warburton would be leaving the club by mutual consent at the end of the season. Unsurprisingly, form dipped but now it seems the reset button has been pushed and the west Londoners are back in the groove and have won three games out of the last four and a good draw at Portman Road on Saturday keeps the Bees ticking over.
KEY MAN: Chris Long
