Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Wed 8 April 2026 11:04, UK

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Championship promotion appears to be in the hands of Coventry City and Ipswich Town, with both clubs holding a clear advantage.

The Sky Blues have all but won the league, holding a 12-point lead over the Tractor Boys with just five games remaining.

Ipswich do have two games in hand, but are more likely to see off the challenges of Middlesbrough and Millwall than make a late push for the title.

Southampton are making a late push themselves, with Tonda Eckert’s team now 16 games unbeaten across all competitions.

After beating Premier League leaders Arsenal to make it to the FA Cup semi-final last week, the Saints followed it up with a superb 5-1 victory away at Wrexham on Tuesday.

Southampton have small automatic promotion chance

Keith Hackett exclusively told Football Insider on Tuesday that Josh Windass’ goal should have been disallowed, but it ultimately had little bearing on the result.

The Saints were dominant and full value for their victory in Wales. Kuryu Matsuki got the scoring underway, before Flynn Downes added to it with a brilliantly struck volley.

Cyle Larin added the third after the break, before Ross Stewart and Finn Azaz capped off a brilliant night for the visitors.

Southampton’s staggering run of form has made them a fierce competitor for any team at the moment, including the Premier League leaders.

With six Championship games remaining, it is not completely out of the question that they go ahead and win all six, which could leave them anywhere in the table.

Opta‘s supercomputer has exercised caution, however, handing the Saints just a 3.28 per cent chance of overturning the six-point gap to Ipswich for automatic promotion.

It has, instead, given them now an 88.22 per cent chance of qualifying for the play-offs, higher than Hull City, who currently sit two points ahead.

Wrexham’s loss has served as a significant blow to their promotion hopes. The Welsh side now have just an 18.84 per cent chance of finishing in the top six, with their best chance now likely to surpass Hull.

Supercomputer backs Ipswich for automatic spot

Just weeks ago, Middlesbrough were hot on the tail of Coventry, looking likely to get past them for the title at one point.

But a catastrophic collapse has seen Kim Hellberg’s team win just two of their last 10 games, and none of the last five.

The supercomputer has now predicted that Ipswich have a 61.58 per cent chance of finishing second and going up automatically, with Middlesbrough at just 21.22 per cent.

Failure to go up will be seen as a monumental failure at the Riverside Stadium, with better chances few and far between.