What to Look Out for When Championship Resumes

15/06/20 2041

The date has been set and the English football League Championship will resume on the 20th of June. Both promotion and relegation will be decided in the usual manner, with all matches being completed before the end of the campaign.

Games will be played at the home stadium of every team as usual but there will be no fans allowed inside the venue.

The last Championship match to be played took place on the 8th of March, so it will be over three months since any games were played in the competition. As things stand, Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion occupy the automatic promotion places.

Leeds United are top on 71 points with West Bromwich Albion just one point behind in second place. There are 9 games remaining in the season and Leeds United have a 7 point gap over Fulham who are in 3rd and therefore should win automatic promotion to the Premier League. Leeds face Fulham at home in their second fixture following the resumption and if they win that game, they should make their return to the Premier League.

While Leeds made a return to form prior to the suspension of the Championship, the opposite happened for West Bromwich Albion. They lost at home against Wigan and were held to a draw at Swansea City. However, given their current position it would be a surprise if West Bromwich Albion were dragged back into the play off fight. They should clinch automatic promotion this season.

In terms of the play-offs, Brentford and Fulham should be two of the teams participating in the end of season finale. Nottingham Forest, being 5 points clear of 7th place Bristol City should also make it into the play offs this season and that leaves one spot remaining. Preston North End currently occupy 6th place but there are five other teams who will believe they have what it takes to clinch the final play -off spot.

Bristol City, as highlighted above are in 7th place, on 55 points and just one point behind Preston. Millwall are on 54 points along with Cardiff City while Blackburn Rovers are on 53 points, the same total as Swansea City.

Out of the six teams, perhaps the most intriguing is Millwall. Gary Rowett took charge at the end of October and based on results since then, Millwall are 5th in the table. Only West Bromwich Albion have lost fewer games and that makes Millwall a decent tip to reach the play-offs and clinch promotion.

In terms of relegation, it is looking tough for Barnsley and Luton Town to escape the drop. Charlton Athletic currently occupy the final relegation spot and they have 39 points. One place above them is Hull City who are on 41 points and could be in danger of relegation this season. At one point, it appeared as though the Tigers could make a push for the play-offs but they have failed to win any of their last 11 matches, including 9 defeats.

Stoke City, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic are not safe but Hull’s dreadful form must make them the leading contender to finish in the bottom three.