How is the Championship promotion race shaping up?

With less than two months to go, the race for the Premier League is as tight and unpredictable as ever. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson looks at the sides still battling for a place in the top-flight.

1 NORWICH CITY (P38, 78pts)

While a number of their leading promotion rivals stutter, Norwich continue to plot a relentless course towards the Premier League.

Few were tipping Daniel Farke’s side for the title at the start of the season, but their consistency has been hugely impressive and they have won eight of their last nine matches.

Teemu Pukki is the Championship’s leading goalscorer, and collectively Norwich have scored five more goals than any other team in the division. If they maintain their attacking momentum, they will secure automatic promotion.

Key game: Sheff Wed (h) – Apr 19

Star man: Teemu Pukki – the Finnish forward has been a revelation this season.

2 SHEFFIELD UNITED (P38, 74pts)

The Blades celebrated their biggest win of the season at the weekend as they beat Yorkshire rivals Leeds United to move into the top two. Their challenge now is to stay there for the next eight games.

They might not boast a lot of star quality, but the strength of Chris Wilder’s squad is in the collective. Sheffield United are extremely hard to beat, and are on a fantastic run, having won six of their last seven games.

Keeping Billy Sharp fit will be essential, but if the Blades continue to defend as they have in the last couple of months, they could be extremely hard to peg back.

Key game: Preston (a) – Apr 6

Star man: Chris Basham – the experienced defender is the rock that holds the Blades’ backline together.

3 LEEDS UNITED (P38, 73pts)

For most of the season, Leeds United have been favourites to claim the title. Suddenly, with eight games to go, they find themselves battling to try to reclaim a place in the top two.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have begun to wobble at the worst possible moment, failing to win four of their last nine matches. The Argentinian is notorious for working his players hard – was it always inevitable they would run out of steam?

There is still time to turn things around, but their run-in is tricky and they could do with getting Adam Forshaw and Kemar Roofe back fit.

Key game: Brentford (a) – Apr 22

Star man: Pablo Hernandez – the Spanish forward adds creativity and unpredictability to the Leeds attack.

4 WEST BROM (P38, 67pts)

They are in the thick of the promotion race, but it could be argued that West Brom have little to play for in the final eight games of the conventional season.

They are almost certainly not going to make the top two, but it would take a remarkable nosedive in form for them to drop out of the play-off places. Consequently, the next eight games will be about trying to get on a roll.

The Baggies probably boast the best attacking unit in the Championship, with Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez. However, they will have to improve defensively to go up.

Key game: Birmingham (h) – Mar 29

Star man: Dwight Gayle – the Newcastle loanee has a proven track record of being effective in the Championship.

5 MIDDLESBROUGH (P37, 58pts)

From a position where they were targeting the top two, Middlesbrough find themselves desperately trying to cling on to a play-off place after picking up just one point from their last four games.

Goalscoring has been a problem all season, but in the last month or so, the defensive reliability that had been the bedrock of their promotion push has deserted them. Tony Pulis needs to find a way of getting it back.

The Teessiders have a game in hand on most of their rivals, but their next three games, against Norwich, Bristol City and Swansea, could go a long way to determining their fate.

Key game: Bristol City (h) – Apr 2

Star man: Darren Randolph – he might have made an uncharacteristic error at the weekend, but the Irish international can claim to be the best goalkeeper in the Championship.

6 ASTON VILLA (P38, 57pts)

They have underachieved for much of the season, but Aston Villa look to have timed their run perfectly, with Saturday’s 3-0 win over Middlesbrough having taken them into a play-off place for the first time this term.

Dean Smith’s side boasts an array of attacking talent, with Jack Grealish pulling the strings behind Tammy Abraham, Anwar El Ghazi and Andre Green.

It remains to be seen how Villa deal with the pressure of having something to hold on to, but having strung together four successive victories, they will approach their final eight games brimming with confidence.

Key game: Leeds (a) – Apr 27

Star man: Jack Grealish – whether Villa get promoted or not, the midfielder will surely be playing in the Premier League next season.

7 PRESTON (P38, 57pts)

A number of sides have been on a good run since the turn of the year, but none have been as effective as Preston. Having started 2019 stuck in mid-table, Alex Neil’s side are unbeaten in the Championship since New Year’s Day and now find themselves on the brink of the play-offs.

Crucially, the injury problems that plagued them in the first half of the season have cleared up, and Neil now has a fully-fit squad to select from. With their key men back, they have got on a roll.

Sustaining their recent run could be difficult, with three of their next four games pitting them against Sheffield United, Leeds and West Brom. Survive those, and they will be right in the mix.

Key game: Leeds (h) – Apr 9

Star man: Alan Browne – the diminutive midfielder tends to be the player pulling the strings behind the Preston attack.

8 DERBY (P37, 56pts)

From a position of real strength a couple of months ago, Derby suddenly find themselves facing a major battle to reclaim a play-off spot in the next two months.

Frank Lampard’s side have been on a dreadful run, winning just one of their last seven league games, and their wobble has brought back bad memories of recent implosions with the finishing line in sight.

Rebuilding morale will be a major test of Lampard’s embryonic managerial talents, with key players such as Harry Wilson and Tom Huddlestone having lost their form at the worst possible moment.

Key game: West Brom (h) – May 5

Star man: Harry Wilson – on his day, the Liverpool loanee is one of the most talented players in the Football League, but his form has dropped in the last month or so.

9 BRISTOL CITY (P36, 55pts)

They might be two points outside the play-off places, but the fact Bristol City have two games in hand on a number of their rivals means they remain a key part of the promotion equation.

Lee Johnson’s side looked nailed on to make the top six when they won nine games in a row in all competitions at the turn of the year, but they have subsequently gone five league matches without a win to check their momentum.

The Robins do not score a lot of goals, but their defensive record is reasonably strong and Ashton Gate has become a difficult ground for opposition teams to visit.

Key game: Aston Villa (a) – Apr 13

Star man: Famara Diedhiou – the Senegalese forward tops City’s goalscoring charts and tends to be the focal point of his side’s attack.

10 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (P38, 55pts)

His arrival at Hillsborough might have been delayed as he took his wife on a cricketing break, but Steve Bruce has had an instant impact since taking charge at Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls are unbeaten since the end of January, with Bruce’s extensive experience of successful promotion campaigns undoubtedly a factor. In next to no time, the former Sunderland boss has assembled a team that looks effective at both ends of the field.

Steven Fletcher has started scoring again, Tom Lees has rediscovered his best form at the heart of the back four, and Wednesday suddenly look live promotion outsiders.

Key game: Leeds (a) – Apr 13

Star man: Adam Reach – the former Middlesbrough winger has scored with a series of eye-catching long-range strikes this season.

11 NOTTINGHAM FOREST (P38, 54pts)

They have been infuriatingly inconsistent for most of the season, but given they are only three points off the play-off places, it would be premature to rule Nottingham Forest out of the equation.

Martin O’Neill’s appointment has clearly given everyone a lift, with recent home wins over Derby and Hull keeping Forest in the play-off-chasing pack.

Newcastle loanee Jack Colback has played impressively under O’Neill, but Forest could desperately do with their leading scorer, Lewis Grabban, returning from injury.

Key game: Middlesbrough (h) – Apr 22

Star man: Lewis Grabban – the ex-Sunderland striker should be available for selection at the end of the international break.