Ipswich look likely to take second place as Millwall and Middlesbrough rise again.
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Sky Bet Championship match highlights between Norwich City and Ipswich Town.
Norwich 0-2 Ipswich
Ipswich have a lot to lose now. For a long time it was about their games. Thanks to a crushing win at home to their rivals, it’s now about them. They have secured all three points at Carrow Road for the first time in 20 years.
He also achieved a league double over Norwich, putting a complete pin on the Canaries’ slim hopes of sneaking into the play-offs.
“This is a great result for the club,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said. “As soon as I got here I was told how important this game was and that it had been so long since we had beaten them.
“We finally got a win early in the season and now we’ve backed that up by achieving the double. I know how much this means to everyone connected with the club and I’m sure everyone will enjoy it.”
Ipswich are now two points ahead of Millwall and three points ahead of Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough have both fallen again and both have two games remaining.
There are challenging games ahead. Boro and Southampton – the latter of whom could currently pose a bigger threat in the race for second place – are still ahead of the final six. But it’s hard to see them joining Coventry in the Premier League next season without getting over the line.
Coventry missed out on their first chance at promotion.
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Sky Bet Championship match highlights between Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday.
Coventry 0-0 Sheff Wednesday
Coventry needed three to guarantee promotion this weekend and it was probably the least likely of the permutations that went away to make the wait a little longer.
Millwall and Middlesbrough needed to drop points and both rightfully so, but in the meantime the Sky Blues failed to get the better of Sheffield Wednesday.
In reality, they are almost there. They are 12 points ahead of third-placed Millwall with four games remaining. Now only a goal difference swing of massive proportions will deny it.
Frank Lampard later admitted tensions had risen.
“There are understandable elements to the game and there is a bit of tension to do so and for many players it is probably their first time experiencing this situation,” Lampard said.
“When it was going to be done, the expectations that it was going to be done, maybe there was a slight impact on the game.
Just watch it live on Sky from Blackburn on Friday night.
Southampton advance but Hull leave play-off door open
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Sky Bet Championship match highlights between Southampton and Derby County.
Southampton 2-1 Derby | Sheff United 2-1 Hull | Birmingham 2-0 Wrexham
It’s no longer a question of whether Southampton will make the play-offs, but whether they can go higher.
Saints won their fifth straight win and moved up to fifth in the table after beating Derby 2-1 on Saturday. Boss Tonda Eckert described it as ‘the best of the week’ in terms of performance. Considering they beat Arsenal seven days ago and beat Wrexham 5-1 in midweek, that’s hardly faint praise.
A win over Blackburn on Tuesday night will see them leapfrog Middlesbrough into fourth place. Until a few weeks ago, it was so unlikely that it was never even raised as a possibility.
They are six points behind Ipswich in second place. They have played more games but still have to face the Tractor Boys. If you keep going, you’ll never know.
Meanwhile, Hull City had the chance to put up the play-off drawbridge but fell short in defeat by Sheffield United. John Lundstram’s red card cost them dearly at Bramall Lane.
But things could have been worse for the Tigers. They remain four points adrift of seventh-placed Wrexham after the Welsh side collapsed in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon. They went down 2-0, barely got a glove on their opponents at St Andrews, and missed opportunities to close the gap.
With four games remaining, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson is not giving up for now.
“We’ve had a tough week this week, but we’re not down yet. We’re not done yet,” he said after the loss.
“People will probably disparage us and to a certain extent that is understandable, but in the dressing room we don’t disparage ourselves and we are one win away from starting again.”
Victories at Oxford and Portsmouth deepened Leicester’s fears.
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Swansea City.
Leicester 0-1 Swansea | Middlesbrough 0-1 Portsmouth | Oxford 2-0 Watford
What happened to Leicester City?
A dismal and lethargic 1-0 defeat at home to Swansea leaves them four points adrift of safety with four games remaining. It’s hard to see where the points come from.
The team they have, the team they put up, shouldn’t be in the position they are in. Even without the points deduction they would be 20th. It is almost unimaginable.
“We just gave up a stupid goal,” manager Gary Rowett said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve said this: giving up is such an absurd goal. Maybe we should go back to basics.
“We have struggled for a long time this season to get the basics right. A lot will be defined in the next game. We need to show more fight and show a little more urgency.”
Next up, Leicester visit Portsmouth, who are one of their closest challengers but found a way to win 1-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday. The gap is four points but could be bigger if Pompey can take anything away from home against Ipswich on Tuesday night.
And then there’s Oxford. Brave and fighting, we got three points against Watford. They have 15 points from their last 8 games, which is quite an impressive figure. Their only defeat during that period came at Southampton.
Only one of the three sides seems to have accepted their fate. Leicester look unlucky at the moment.
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