Championship final table predicted: Crucial wins for…

Championship final table predicted: Crucial wins for Bristol City, Leeds United and Aston Villa boost promotion hopes

It has been another busy week in the Championship with fans treated to a full quota of midweek matches this week.

And the results have dramatically changed the promotion and relegation picture.

Bristol City secured a vital three points against fellow promotion-chasers West Brom with a 3-2 win at Ashton Gate to enhance their top-six claims.

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Leeds United bounced back from their weekend defeat to Birmingham City by securing a 2-0 win at Preston, effectively ending the Lancashire side’s play-off hopes.

And last night Birmingham did Leeds a big favour by holding automatic promotion rivals Sheffield United to a 1-1 draw - and leave the Whites in prime position to claim second place in our predicted final table.

Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson celebrates (Ryan Hiscott/JMP)

Elsewhere in the play-off hunt, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday all secured important victories but there were defeats for Derby County and Nottingham Forest to further dent their hopes of a Wembley finale to their season.

At the bottom of the table, battling Reading claimed a point at champions-elect Norwich City to boost their hopes of survival. Coupled with Rotherham’s defeat by 10-man Aston Villa, our predicted final table now has the Royals staying up and the Millers dropping back into League One.

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Meanwhile, further defeats for Ipswich and Bolton edged them both closer to relegation.

FootballWebPages have analysed the remaining Championship fixtures with their supercomputer to come up with a predicted final table - and it suggests this week’s wins for Leeds and Bristol City could be crucial.

Andreas Weimann of Bristol City celebrates scoring (Nizaam Jones/JMP)

Norwich are tipped to run away with the title, finishing with an astonishing 100 points, and Leeds are now predicted to join them in the Premier League with Marcelo Bielsa’s side finishing just two points ahead of Sheffield United.

The Blades would have to settle for a spot in the play-offs and they are tipped to be joined by West Brom, Bristol City and Aston Villa, with the latter edging Tony Pulis’s Middlesbrough by two points.