Pulsating Promotion Push: How the Championship Top Teams are Shaping Up – EFL CHAMPIONSHIP Pulsating Promotion Push: How the Championship Top Teams are Shaping Up – EFL CHAMPIONSHIP
Pulsating Promotion Push: How the Championship Top Teams are Shaping Up – EFL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2024

Pulsating Promotion Push: How the Championship Top Teams are Shaping Up – EFL CHAMPIONSHIP

As the season nears its climax, we assess the four clubs competing for two automatic promotion spots to the Premier League.

Leicester City: P36, 81 pts

With ten games remaining, Leicester sits three points clear at the top and is in a strong position. However, three defeats in their last four matches have given hope to their rivals, turning what once seemed like a straightforward path to promotion into a more competitive race.

Given the grim financial outlook, promotion is crucial. Leicester risks breaching the English Football League’s profit and sustainability regulations for the 2023-24 season and may also face challenges with the Premier League’s financial rules regarding their accounts from the three years before their relegation last May. While any sanctions are unlikely to take effect this season, another round of player sales could be on the horizon, with homegrown midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall being the club’s most valuable asset after an impressive season.

Jamie Vardy, one of the high earners whose contract expires this summer, has timed his resurgence perfectly, scoring six goals in his last seven matches. Jannik Vestergaard, whose contract also ends in June, has played a pivotal role in the title chase. Enzo Maresca’s possession-oriented team has won more matches than any other in the league but has occasionally struggled to finish off opponents. They desperately need to find a way to close out games.

Ipswich Town: P36, 78 pts

At the beginning of the season, Ipswich insiders hoped for a top-half finish. Still, they could find themselves in the Premier League next season for the first time since 2002. Despite Kieran McKenna’s side impressively securing promotion last year with 101 goals and 98 points as runners-up, it’s remarkable that they have lost only four league matches, two of which were against a Leeds team closely pursuing them.

McKenna has impressed Ipswich since he took charge when the club was mid-table in League One less than two and a half years ago. The 37-year-old has instilled a fierce mentality in his squad, which has scored eight goals in the 89th minute or later, including Leif Davis’s dramatic winner against Bristol City in midweek, marking their sixth consecutive league victory. “When we see 90 minutes on the clock and added time, we always think we can get another goal,” said Omari Hutchinson, Ipswich’s Chelsea loanee.

Davis, with a league-high 14 assists, has been exceptional at left-back. At the same time, Wes Burns provided electric performances on the right, and captain Sam Morsy was selfless in midfield. The February loan signing of Kieffer Moore, whom Mick McCarthy initially brought to the club for just £10,000 in 2017, has proven to be a brilliant move, with the striker scoring five goals in five weeks. Ipswich, acquired by the American investment fund Gamechanger 20 Ltd led by a Los Angeles-based businessman in 2021, is on the verge of hitting the jackpot—much earlier than anticipated.

Leeds United: P36, 76 pts

Despite the uncertainty, Leeds United was working to position itself for a quick return to the Premier League on the eve of the season, thanks to a takeover and new manager Daniel Farke. Wilfried Gnonto, who initially handed in a transfer request, is central to Leeds’s promotion efforts. At the same time, players like Tyler Adams, Jack Harrison, and Luis Sinisterra have become distant memories.

Leeds has two strong contenders for the EFL’s Player and Young Player of the Season awards: Crysencio Summerville and Archie Gray. Gray, who turns 18 next week and is the great-nephew of legendary Leeds winger Eddie Gray, is one of the standout stories of the season. Georginio Rutter, who struggled to score after joining Hoffenheim for £36 million last season, has found his form this campaign.

While Leicester’s squad depth has been praised, Leeds has gradually built a team that rivals theirs in quality. In January, full-back Connor Roberts, promoted with champions Burnley last season, became the third Welsh international to join this season, adding to a total of four in the squad. Ethan Ampadu, who has served as captain in recent months, has played only two minutes this season. “It’s not about passports,” Farke stated, “it’s all about character.”

Southampton, P35, 70 points

It indicated things to come when Southampton opened the season at Hillsborough with a late 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on a Friday night. Russell Martin’s Saints have had a wild ride. They lost four straight games in September by a combined score of 12-2 before starting an incredible, record-breaking 25-game winning streak.

They have since dropped three of their last five league games, and last weekend’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Birmingham required a goal in the 96th minute to overcome the opposition. Adam Armstrong had opened the scoring for them. In the division this year, Armstrong has scored more goals than anyone else save Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics, whose outstanding play earned him a transfer to Southampton in 2021.

After spending the previous season on loan in the division with Stoke, Will Smallbone has had a breakthrough year in the midfield. Kyle Walker-Peters and Che Adams have shown their class. “I know a lot of players in this league still, and they talk to me after games and say:

‘Kyle Walker-Peters: wow,’’ the former Norwich defender Martin said recently. “He has been a huge player for us.”

The Saints, who currently hold a game against their rivals, have a full schedule after their home game against Preston on Wednesday, which was postponed due to a fire near St Mary’s. They will have to work hard to secure a spot in the top two. Leicester, Ipswich, and Leeds are the remaining three teams they must visit; the last of those games could decide the outcome of the season.

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author
Katarzyna Nowak

Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and football sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Football News Today, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for football, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.