Championship today as Chris Wilder loses his head, Sunderland stutter, and Burnley march on

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One of the most thrilling and unpredictable campaigns in recent memory continues to take twists and turns, as we run down the state of play in the Championship today.

The action began on Friday night with Burnley hosting Norwich City looking to reclaim top spot, albeit briefly, and we’ve still got one more game to come on Monday night as Coventry face Hull City.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s games in the Championship saw Sheffield United’s horrific run of form continue, proving the curse of the Manager of the Month award might be a real thing after all.

Elsewhere, Valerien Ismael finally got his first win as Blackburn Rovers manager, West Brom got back on track for the play-off assault, and Oxford United completed a Sheffield double to potentially seal their survival.

We’ve taken a look at the top stories from the title race, the midtable movers, and that dogfight at the bottom as we unpack what’s going on in the Championship today.

• READ MORE: Incredible 77-game Championship record Leeds United hold that could seal promotion to the Premier League

Sheffield United are falling apart now

Just over a week ago, Sheffield United were sitting at the top of the Championship table and looked to be in control of the title race.

Fast forward to today, and the Blades have lost three on the bounce and are now four points adrift in third place. Defeats to Oxford last weekend and Millwall in midweek were followed up by a dramatic last-gasp loss against bottom of the league Plymouth Argyle in the Saturday lunchtime game.

Suffice to say, Sheffield United are falling apart, and rival fans are loving it. And, to make matters worse, Chris Wilder was fighting with Plymouth players in the tunnel after the game at Home Park, as the bad results clearly have started to take their toll on the Blades boss.

• READ MORE: ‘Too many vibes in the changing room’: Burnley duo share hilarious insight after 2-1 win vs Norwich City

Burnley and Leeds United pull away at the top

Pundits have suggested United’s season is over, but there has been mass praise for Burnley and Leeds, who continue to march on.

Burnley secured an ‘outstanding’ win over Norwich on Friday night, with goals from Hannibal Mejbri and Jaidon Anthony proving enough to get past the Canaries.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	42	25	13	4	82	29	53	88
2	BurnleyBurnley	42	24	16	2	57	13	44	88
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	42	26	7	9	57	33	24	83
4	SunderlandSunderland	42	21	13	8	57	38	19	76
5	Bristol CityBristol City	42	16	16	10	54	45	9	64
6	CoventryCoventry	41	18	8	15	58	53	5	62

Meanwhile, a resurgent Leeds side won by the same scoreline against Preston North End on Saturday afternoon, and it’s Daniel Farke’s men who return to the top of the table now.

The two teams are on 88 points, while the Blades sit on 84, and with just four games to go, it looks like the automatic promotion places could be set already.

Record-breaking Burnley take on Sheffield United in just over a week, in what will absolutely be a season-defining fixture.

• READ MORE: Championship title race set for surprising outcome as supercomputer decides between Burnley, Leeds, and Sheffield United

Stagnant Sunderland look poor prior to play-offs

Sunderland’s story this season continues to be an odd one. The Black Cats came out of the blocks fastest in the first half of the campaign, but have slowly slipped away from contention at the top, and while they have their play-off spot secured, Sunderland look sluggish to say the least now.

The Mackems fell to a dismal 1-0 defeat at home to Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, with fans bemoaning the anonymous Wilson Isidor, among many other criticisms.

Sunderland are in a tough position here. They need to get momentum most importantly, with better performances and results needed to get themselves in a strong place heading into the play-offs. But, at the same time, Regis Le Bris will be wary of running his top players into the ground too soon.

While Sunderland have been marooned in fourth place for some time now, they arguably look like the weakest team in the top six at present.

Elsewhere, other play-off contenders like Bristol City and Middlesbrough dropped points, but while the former still look good to finish in the top six, Michael Carrick’s men may now have missed the boat.

• READ MORE: Stoke City’s wonderkid is the Premier League 2 top goalscorer, he’s only played 5 games out of 20

Championship relegation battle is now wide open

While most people were distracted by Wilder’s actions and the dramatic collapse of Sheffield United, it’s worth noting that bottom side Plymouth are now just three points away from 21st-placed Derby County (albeit with a much worse goal difference).

This Championship relegation battle is enthralling, and after this weekend’s results, it’s absolutely wide open, with at least six teams still in serious danger.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
19	PortsmouthPortsmouth	42	12	10	20	50	66	-16	46
20	Hull CityHull City	41	11	11	19	40	49	-9	44
21	DerbyDerby	42	11	10	21	44	54	-10	43
22	CardiffCardiff	42	9	15	18	45	66	-21	42
23	LutonLuton	42	10	10	22	37	63	-26	40
24	PlymouthPlymouth	42	9	13	20	44	82	-38	40

Weeks ago, fans suggested Miron Muslic could keep Plymouth up. Before the game against United, Muslic even claimed his team could win it, and he was proven right thanks to his players fighting to the death.

One thing’s for sure, Plymouth have not given up hope of a great escape, and while Luton and Cardiff fell to defeats, Derby and Portsmouth shared the points, which leaves everything delicately poised heading into the final four games at the bottom.

• READ MORE: Former Derby County boss Paul Warne rejects controversial League Two manager job

Sheffield Wednesday fans don’t want Chansiri apology

One final story to focus on in the Championship today is the ever-evolving situation at Sheffield Wednesday.

After the financial debacle that left players unpaid and the Owls facing multiple punishments including points deductions and transfer embargos, chairman Dejphon Chansiri eventually stepped up and resolved the matter.

Ahead of the defeat to Oxford at Hillsborough, Chansiri released a statement explaining how sorry he was for the mess that occurred last week. That’s all well and good, but in that statement he also made it clear that he was nowhere near agreeing a deal to sell the club, which is bad news for many Wednesday fans.

We predicted it would take a ‘miracle’ for Chansiri to sell up. That miracle looks less and less likely now, which could well mean Wednesday are condemned to more disappointment and stagnation next season.