Championship predictions: Coventry champions; Middlesbrough to win play-off final
Coventry City currently sit pretty at the top of the Championship with a nine-point gap over Middlesbrough in second place.
The Midlands side are favourites to go up, with their consistency playing a key part in the division this year.
Sport News Blitz’s Elliot Ward has more on the Championship promotion race.
Coventry’s key to success
Coventry’s most consistent performer so far this season is top scorer Haji Wright with 16 goals.
Milan van Ewijk has the most assists with seven, and central midfielder Victor Torp, who has accumulated one of the highest average ratings in the league.
These are the players who I believe will help Coventry return to the Premier League and win this league.
Runners-up
Finishing in second place will be Ipswich Town.
They have players who will shine through in these last nine games, including Leif Davis, Jack Clarke and Marcelino Nunez, all necessary to getting them over the line.
These kinds of players are what the other teams in the play-off and automatic promotion race don’t have.
Falling short of automatic promotion
Middlesbrough will be the unlucky ones and drop out of the top two, finishing just short in third place.
They don’t quite have that spark to go and pick up more points than Ipswich, mostly due to a lack of quality and belief in their own squad.
After multiple years of getting so close to achieving promotion back to the Premier League, this might play a factor in the run-in.
In fourth place I have Millwall, a consistently good side who have all the assets to become a great Championship side.
They have strength, physicality and passion, all stemming from their fanbase and the expectations of the club.
Unfortunately, I don’t see any Premier League quality players within their ranks that would be able to push them all the way to the top flight of English football.
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The final play-off places
Southampton are a team that really struggled at the start of the season.
Tonda Eckert, who came to the club as a manager from their Under-21s side, has managed to take them from a relegation side to a play-off contender.
For this reason, I think Southampton will carry on their form, finishing fifth and claiming a play-off spot.
Finishing in sixth place and claiming the final play-off place, I have Hull.
The Tigers have good Championship players with the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Oli McBurnie.
Acting as their firepower, these players are capable of taking them into the knockout rounds of the play-offs.
Play-off winner
Middlesbrough will be too much for the likes of Hull City, seeing Boro ease past the Tigers and into the play-off final.
On the other side of the bracket, Millwall will fall short against Southampton.
The Saints have experience in the play-offs, having beaten Leeds in the final two years ago, giving them that edge to push through to the final.
Finally, the winners of the play-offs will be Middlesbrough, returning them to the Premier League.
Championship top six final predictions:
1st Coventry City
2nd Ipswich Town
3rd Middlesbrough (play-off winner)
4th Millwall
5th Southampton
6th Hull City
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