Where is the Title going?
The title race in the Championship will go down to the final weekend. So there will be pure excitement to see whether it is Norwich or Sheffield United who will be topping the table come the close of Sunday’s play.
Which one of them will win the coveted Championship title?
Both secured automatic promotion anyway. So there is at least a not-so-insignificant consolation prize for the second placed team in this battle on the final weekend of the season. Heading into Sunday’s action, the Canaries hold the advantage as they are three points clear at the top over the Blades.
However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be pipped to the post. Sheffield United have a better goal difference than Norwich do. So if Sheffield United can claim a victory and Norwich lose on Sunday, it will be the Blades who go up as champions.
Even though these are the two who have locked in the automatic promotion spots, there’s still plenty to play for, namely the pride of being crowned league winners.
Let’s take a look at their games:
Aston Villa v Norwich
Norwich have the rougher finish of the two. They are out at Aston Villa, who are heading to the playoffs. Villa have been in red hot form with ten wins in their last eleven games (undefeated in twelve). That’s the form which has helped them secure a top six finish. So there’s no easy way that the Villains are going to give the Canaries an easy game.
Norwich are 6/4 favourites though with top bookmakers, but will they simply be happy in getting a point that will guarantee them the title? Norwich are on a tremendous thirteen match undefeated streak of form, as well as having hit the back of the net in each of their last 26 league games, home and away. They could easily be forgiven for being cautious in this to try and earn a point and win the title.
Stoke v Sheffield United
As for Sheffield United, they are 11/10 favourites to win their away game on Sunday. They are heading to Stoke who haven’t done much of anything apart from draw games recently. Stoke are down in the bottom half of the table and have nothing to play for in this one. The Potters have won only two of their last fourteen league games, drawing ten of the games within that sequence.
So that should at least mean that Sheffield United have a good chance of getting the win to heap pressure on Norwich. The amount of character and strength that the Blades have shown during this run in has been immense. They are on a three-match winning streak at the moment and are undefeated in eight away games. To boot they have conceded one goal only in their last six road games and they are facing a Stoke team who are the lowest scoring club in the Championship outside of the bottom three.
The Play-Offs
Three of the four playoffs spots have been secured. The only thing that has been guaranteed though is that Aston Villa will be finishing in fifth place. Leeds head into the final weekend of action in third, but are only three points ahead of West Brom. West Brom have a goal difference advantage over Leeds and so if the Baggies claim the win and Leeds lose, West Brom would leap above them.
Positioning is important in the playoff spots because going forward, the third-place finishers in the league will play the sixth-placed finishers, so should get an easier tie in the semi finals. Leeds, who had their form go south at a crucial time, causing them to miss automatic promotion are strong 4/7 favourites at leading bookmakers to win their final of the game season. That is against bottom side Ipswich.
West Brom have a much more difficult game than Leeds do, as they go to face Derby who will be trying to cling on to that final playoff spot. So that should be some game and because the Rams are at home and really are more in need of a win than West Brom, Derby are going as 23/20 favourites to collect three points, with the visiting Baggies at 23/10.
Race for the Final Play-Off Spot
So Derby will be defending sixth place on the weekend. What do they need to do to ensure their place in the playoffs? Simply at the minimum, match whatever 7th placed Middlesbrough do on the day. The Rams missed a big opportunity to seal sixth place in midweek when they could only manage a draw against Swansea. A win there would have left them three points clear of Boro with a far superior goal difference.
So now Derby have to sweat and work on the final day against West Brom. Middlesbrough have to go to the already-relegated Rotherham, so will fancy their chances of three points. To get a playoff place, they have to better whatever Derby’s result on the day is. But that’s not the end of the story. There is another name in the mix and that is Bristol City.
The Robins would claim sixth place in the table if they were to win away at Hull, which they are 7/5 at leading bookmakers to do, plus both Derby and Middlesbrough lose. So Bristol City have the most to do to get in there, needing other results to go their way as well as landing their own victory.
Relegation
Three teams will be taking a tumble down to League One for next season from the Championship. Somewhat sadly there is going to be no big last day of the season drama. There is no battle for survival. It has already been confirmed that Ipswich, Bolton and Rotherham are the ones who are heading down. Ipswich, who have taken only four wins this season, are set to finish rock bottom.
