Championship preview

Boro face Newcastle; Baggies host Blackpool; Forest play Preston

Last updated: 12th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Championship preview

Strachan: Faces local derby

Click below for individual match stats and previews:

Barnsley v Crystal Palace
Coventry v Plymouth
Doncaster v Derby
Ipswich v Scunthorpe
Leicester v Cardiff
Middlesbrough v Newcastle
Preston v Nottm Forest
Reading v Bristol City
Sheff Utd v QPR
Swansea v Sheff Wed
Watford v Peterborough
West Brom v Blackpool

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Middlesbrough have the chance to disrupt North-East rivals Newcastle's promotion charge at the Riverside.

The Magpies are six points clear at the top of the Championship with a game in hand and are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League.

They will be favourites to take all three points in the Tyne-Tees derby, although a win for Boro would be extra sweet as they look to kick-start a push for the play-offs.

West Brom will also be hoping for a Middlesbrough victory, as they try and claw back Newcastle when Blackpool travel to the Hawthorns.

The Baggies have won their last four league games at home while Blackpool's form has picked up of late, leaving an intriguing tie in the Midlands.

If West Brom lose and Nottingham Forest win against Preston though, Forest will move into the automatic promotion places.

But while Billy Davies' side have an excellent record at home, their last five away games have all ended in defeat.

They will want to end this unwanted trend at Deepdale, although North End are unbeaten in their last four on home soil.

The scramble for play-off places continues as top-six hopefuls Leicester and Cardiff clash at the Walkers Stadium.

A win for the Bluebirds would see them leapfrog their fifth-place opponents, but the Foxes will not go down easily as they look to secure back-to-back promotions.

At the other end of the table relegation threatened Ipswich and Scunthorpe battle it out in a six-pointer.

Roy Keane's men are currently three points above the Iron having played a game more, but both teams are perilously close to the drop zone and in desperate need of victories.

Opportunity

Between those two sides are Watford, and they will see an away game at Peterborough as an opportunity to move up the league standings.

The Posh seem doomed to relegation and are 10 points from safety, but a win last time out has lifted the gloom at London Road and the Hornets will have to be prepared for a spirited fight.

Sheffield Wednesday currently occupy the final relegation place in the table and they face a difficult challenge when they travel to promotion-hunting Swansea.

The Owls have only managed one win in their last five and will have to produce an outstanding display if they are going to get anything at the Liberty Stadium.

A win for Coventry over lowly Plymouth could see them move into the play-off places.

Chris Coleman's Sky Blues are in a rich vein of form having won their last three games, and will be favourites against the Pilgrims who are in big trouble at the bottom.

Administration-hit Crystal Palace are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference and survival is the No.1 target for the Eagles, who go to South Yorkshire to face Barnsley.

New manager Paul Hart has a massive task on his hand, and they will be underdogs at Oakwell as the Tykes have a strong home record.

Reading bounced back from their FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa with an emphatic 4-1 over Derby in midweek, and they will want more of the same against Bristol City.

The Royals have pulled themselves out of the relegation dogfight although they are not out of the woods just yet, and the Robins will be doing their best to halt their run.

Meanwhile, mid-table QPR travel to play-off hopefuls Sheffield United, while Derby, who have been the subject of a takeover bid, take on Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium.