Who will get promoted to the Premier League?

ByEurosport

Updated 12/04/2019 at 19:41 GMT

There are just five games left in the Championship. It is the business end of the season. Marcus Foley predicts who will win the title, claim the second automatic promotion spot and the four play-off spots.

Who will win the Championship? Who will make the play-offs? And who will win the play-off final?

Image credit: Eurosport

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The current situation at the top

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Gameweek 41 took place on Tuesday April 9 and Wednesday April 10. The results were as follows:

Results:

09/04/2019

Blackburn Rovers 2 – 0 Derby County
Bristol City 3 – 2 West Bromwich Albion
Preston North End 0 – 2 Leeds United
Bolton Wanderers 0 – 2 Middlesbrough

10/04/2019

Norwich 2-2 Reading
Rotherham United 1-2 Aston Villa
Birmingham City 1-1 Sheffield United

That left the table as follows.

The Contenders

Norwich's eight-game winning running was brought to a halt by a 2-2 draw with Reading on Wednesday, leaving them with a seven-point gap over third-placed Sheffield United, which, barring a catastrophic collapse with just five games remaining has more or less sealed their return to the Premier League.

Derby, at the other end of the play-off spectrum, sit five points off Bristol City in sixth and six points off Aston Villa in fifth - the Rams have a game in hand over the Villans gives them a fighting chance. Therefore, that leaves the following seven sides battling it out for one automatic promotion spot and four play-off places.

Leeds United:

Pros: Marcelo Bielsa, a world-renowned coach, whose methods can produce exhilarating, exceptional football.
Cons: Marcelo Bielsa, a world-renowned coach, whose methods can produce exhilarating, exceptional football but whose physical demands can also prove exhausting.

Sheffield United:

Pros: Fourth highest scorers in the league, combined with the league's second-most frugal defence.
Cons: No glaring weaknesses but have lost the occasional crucial game, having lost to Leeds, Bristol City, West Brom and Derby

West Brom:

Pros: One of the strongest squads in the league
Cons: A suspect defence that has seen them lose their last two on the bounce

Bristol City:

Pros: A game in hand against relegation-threatened Millwall
Cons: Millwall game aside, a fairly tough run-in with games against Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Hull.

Aston Villa:

Pros: The return of Jack Grealish has sparked a six-game winning streak
Cons: Finish their season against Leeds and Norwich.

Middlesbrough:

Pros: Broke a horrendous run of form - six losses on the bounce - with a gameweek 41 win against Bolton Wanderers.
Cons: It was Bolton, who had lost seven of their last 10 league games.

Derby County:

Pros: Form has slightly picked up after a run of three losses in late February/early March, and have a fairly favourable run in.
Cons: They have already lost one of those favourable fixtures, though, against Blackburn in gameweek 41.

Gameweek 42: April 13-14

Fixtures

13/04/2019

Middlesbrough v Hull City: Hull win
Derby County v Bolton Wanderers: Derby win
Aston Villa v Bristol City: Villa win
Sheffield United v Millwall: Sheffield United win
West Bromwich Albion v Preston North End: Draw
Leeds United v Sheffield Wednesday: Draw

14/04/2019

Wigan Athletic v Norwich City: Norwich win

Team	Played	Points
1st	Norwich City	42	88
2nd	Sheffield United	42	81
3rd	Leeds United	42	80
4th	West Brom	42	71
5th	Aston Villa	42	69
6th	Bristol City	41	65
7th	Derby County	41	63
8th	Middlesbrough	42	61

Villa are the big winners, beating play-off rivals and away day specialists Bristol City to open a six-point advantage over seventh-placed Derby, who remain in the hunt with a game in hand. Things are not looking good for a hopelessly out-of-form Boro, who suffer defeat at an improving Hull. Norwich remain in the driving seat for the title as the race for the second promotion spot remains a two-way fight between Sheffield United and Leeds.

Jack Grealish of Aston Villa celebrates following the Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa at Hillsborough Stadium on April 06, 2019 in Sheffield, England

Image credit: Getty Images

Gameweek 43: April 19

Fixtures

Bristol City v Reading: Bristol City win
Sheffield United v Nottingham Forest: Sheffield United win
Leeds United v Wigan Athletic: Leeds win
West Bromwich Albion v Hull City: Hull City win
Middlesbrough v Stoke City: Draw
Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa: Villa win
Birmingham City v Derby County: Derby win
Norwich City v Sheffield Wednesday: Draw

Team	Played	Points
1st	Norwich City	43	89
2nd	Sheffield United	43	84
3rd	Leeds United	43	83
4th	Aston Villa	43	72
5th	West Brom	43	71
6th	Bristol City	42	68
7th	Derby County	42	66
8th	Middlesbrough	43	62

Boro's draw against Stoke City sees the gap to the play-off places rise to a near-insurmountable six points with just three fixtures remaining. Villa, the Championship's form team, rise to fourth after downing Bolton Wanderers. Norwich's lead to second place drops to five points after a second draw in three games, this time with Steve Bruce's solid - but draw friendly - Sheffield Wednesday.

Gameweek 44: April 22

Fixtures

Aston Villa v Millwall: Draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Bristol City: Wednesday win
Reading v West Bromwich Albion: WBA win
Nottingham Forest v Middlesbrough: Forest win
Hull City v Sheffield United: Draw
Derby County v Queens Park Rangers: Derby win
Brentford v Leeds United: Leeds win
Stoke City v Norwich City: Norwich win

Team	Played	Points
1st	Norwich City	44	92
2nd	Leeds United	44	86
3rd	Sheffield United	44	85
4th	West Brom	44	74
5th	Aston Villa	44	73
6th	Derby County	43	69
7th	Bristol City	43	68
8th	Middlesbrough	44	62

Norwich confirm promotion with a solid win at Stoke and need only a point to confirm the title from the remaining two games. It is still mathematically possible for West Brom and Villa to be caught by Bristol City and Derby County, who both have three games to play - even if one of those fixtures pits the Rams against the Robins.

Gameweek 45: April 27-28

Fixtures

27/04/2019

Middlesbrough v Reading: Boro win
Bristol City v Derby County: Bristol City win
West Bromwich Albion v Rotherham United: WBA win
Sheffield United v Ipswich Town: Sheffield United win
Norwich City v Blackburn Rovers: Norwich win

28/04/2019

Leeds United v Aston Villa: Draw

Team	Played	Points
1st	Norwich City	45	95
2nd	Sheffield United	45	88
3rd	Leeds United	45	87
4th	West Brom	45	77
5th	Aston Villa	45	74
6th	Bristol City	44	71
7th	Derby County	44	69
8th	Middlesbrough	45	65

Following a win at rock bottom Ipswich Town, Sheffield United are in pole position in the race for the second automatic promotion spot and Bristol City can confirm their spot in the play-offs with a win against MIllwall in the bonus gameweek that will also feature Swansea City against Derby.

Norwich City Manager Daniel Farke

Image credit: Getty Images

Bonus Gameweek: April 30 - May 1

Fixtures

30/04/2019

Millwall v Bristol City: Bristol City win

01/05/2019

Swansea City v Derby County: Draw

Team	Played	Points
1st	Norwich City	45	95
2nd	Sheffield United	45	88
3rd	Leeds United	45	87
4th	West Brom	45	77
5th	Bristol City	45	74
=	Aston Villa	45	74
7th	Derby County	45	70
8th	Middlesbrough	45	65

Bristol City's win - their first against Millwall since January 2012 - coupled with Derby's draw means the Robins join Villa, West Brom and one of Leeds or Sheffield United in the play-offs.

Gameweek 46: May 5

Fixtures

Derby County v West Bromwich Albion: Draw
Rotherham United v Middlesbrough: Boro win
Ipswich Town v Leeds United: Leeds win
Hull City v Bristol City: Draw
Aston Villa v Norwich City: Norwich Win
Stoke City v Sheffield United: Draw

Team	Played	Points
1st	Norwich City	46	98
2nd	Leeds United	46	90
3rd	Sheffield United	46	89
4th	West Brom	46	78
5th	Bristol City	46	75
6th	Aston Villa	46	74
7th	Derby County	46	71
8th	Middlesbrough	46	68

Leeds captalise on Sheffield United's slip up at Stoke, who they also drew with earlier in the season, to sneak into second courtesy of a win at bottom-of-the-table Ipswich Town. West Brom hang on for fourth with Bristol City, whose game in hand ended up paying dividends, in fifth, and Villa sixth. Therefore, the play-off semi-final are as such:

Aston Villa v Sheffield United
Bristol City v West Brom

Play-off semi-finals:

First leg - 11/05/2019 (TBC)
Second leg - 15/05/2019 (TBC)

Aston Villa v Sheffield United: Villa win

Dean Smith's October appointment was descending into disappointment after a February wobble that took in a no wins in five but Jack Grealish's March return from injury sparked a revival that saw them into the play-offs as one of the division's form teams. The Blades admonished Villa 4-1 back in September and the pair drew 3-3 in February but, given Villa's improvement, there was little value in reading too much into those results. Villa remain liable at the back but have elite creators in Conor Hourihane, John McGinn and Grealish, and a Premier League ready forward in Tammy Abraham so get the win.

Bristol City v West Brom: Bristol City win

The Robins had shown an aptitude for the big game, having beaten Sheffield United and their semi-final opponents West Brom in the run-in. Their home form, however, has been patchy at points this season so playing away second was actually to their advantage. However, WBA have Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez but the decision to relieve Darren Moore of his job in early March bore no fruit, and deservedly so, as Bristol City claim an easy win.

Play-off final:

Play-off final: 27/05/2019

Aston Villa v Bristol City: Villa win the £160 million game

Sides like Villa, lavishly talented, expansive, yet flawed, tend to do their best business in cup competitions. So, a play-off final against Bristol City, a team who harbour one of the best defences in the league but are functional in attack, represented a fairly favourable match up. The Villan's superior guile and vastly superior goal threat will see them return to the Premier League after a two-year absence.

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