Having made its comeback last weekend, the Championship has already seen a shake-up at the top of the table.
A goalless draw against Birmingham was enough for West Brom to leapfrog Leeds at the summit before Marcelo Bielsa’s side lost away to Cardiff City. The Baggies have a superior goal difference to their title rivals, with both sides now level on 71 points.
Below them, third-placed Fulham lost to fourth-placed Brentford and saw the gap between them narrow to a single point. While there is now a seven-point gulf between the automatic promotion spots and the play-off places, a late surge from either of the west London sides could still give the top two cause for concern.
With the top four set to go head to head this weekend, the next round of games could have a significant bearing on the promotion picture. West Brom travel to Brentford on Friday evening, while Leeds host Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking ahead of Leeds’ first game back at Elland Road, Bielsa said: “We cannot link this match with the disappointment of last season.
“Every match is important. This has a more valuable meaning because we play with the direct and closest team to us in the fight for promotion.”
Can Leeds get back on track? Can West Brom hang on to top spot? Can Fulham and Brentford rattle the promotion favourites?
Here’s what to expect ahead of two massive games in the race for the Premier League.
Tricky fixture for Leeds
While Leeds still have every chance of achieving automatic promotion and even end the season as champions, fans could be forgiven for allowing their nerves to jangle.
Last season ended with a late collapse which wrecked their long-awaited Premier League homecoming and, though they are in a better position this time around, Fulham are tricky opponents.
Leeds lost the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage in December, downed by goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Josh Onomah. Many Fulham fans seem unconvinced by Scott Parker’s management and the squad is widely perceived to have underperformed this season but, nonetheless, they know that they have what it takes to beat Bielsa’s team.
With Elland Road usually an intimidating ground for away sides, Leeds may suffer disproportionately from the strange, sterile silence of games without fans.
This is their last game against a top-six team, however. Whatever the result, the most important thing is to find some consistency across the rest of the run-in.
West Brom should be wary
Among the sides currently in the play-off places, Brentford are the ones to watch.
Not only were they impressive in victory over Fulham last weekend, they have one of the most dynamic squads in the league.
Ollie Watkins has been in fine form up front, scoring 22 goals for the season. Said Benrahma has been fantastic out wide, Josh Dasilva and Christian Norgaard have stood out in midfield, while former Dulwich Hamlet defender Ethan Pinnock has continued his meteoric rise with an excellent debut season in the Championship.
West Brom are top of the table for a reason and they have struck an effective balance between attack and defence under Slaven Bilic.
They should be wary of a trip to Griffin Park, however. Another goalless draw wouldn’t be a bad result for them by any means.
Final play-off spot up for grabs
Elsewhere it’s worth keeping an eye on the final play-off spot, currently occupied by Preston. After their draw with relegation-threatened Luton last Saturday they are now level on points with Cardiff, separated by a single goal.
Blackburn Rovers and Swansea are one point behind them and Bristol City, Millwall and Derby are all within touching distance. In theory, anyone down to 12th in the table could usurp sixth place this weekend.
Championship table
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2NweZkA
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