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Championship today as Sheffield Wednesday stun Norwich, Leeds United reclaim top spot, and John Eustace fixes Derby County

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There’s never a dull moment in the second tier, and the midweek fixtures in the Championship have thrown up some more tantalising twists and turns for teams at both ends of the table.

It’s been a fascinating season in the Championship, and the beauty of it is, we still have no idea at this stage who will win the title, who will get the play-off spots, and who will be relegated.

In fact, after the latest round of results, the permutations throughout the league have become even more unpredictable than ever.

We saw huge wins at the bottom for Luton Town against Cardiff, Hull City against Oxford, and Plymouth Argyle against Portsmouth.

Home teamScoreAway team
Derby County2-0Coventry City
Middlesbrough2-1QPR
Cardiff City1-2Luton Town
Burnley1-1West Brom
Sunderland1-1Preston North End
Norwich City2-3Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United1-1Bristol City
Hull City2-1Oxford United
Watford1-0Swansea City
Leeds United2-0Millwall
Portsmouth1-2Plymouth Argyle
Stoke City1-0Blackburn Rovers

Meanwhile, there were setbacks for Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City in the hunt for a play-off place, and three of the top four teams in the league were held to draws.

There’s a lot to take in, but we’ve rounded up the top stories from the past two days in the Championship for you.

Leeds United FC v Millwall FC - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images

Leeds United are back on top after blip

Leeds United stuttered over the weekend with defeat to Portsmouth, though given Pompey’s home form, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

That left Sheffield United clear to steal top spot, albeit momentarily (more on that shortly), and had Daniel Farke worrying about Leeds’ chances against Millwall.

But, all those fears were put to bed early doors at Elland Road, and Leeds cruised to a 2-0 win against the Lions. Ao Tanaka was the star man on the night, and the three points put the Whites back at the top of the table with a two point cushion heading into the weekend.

Sheffield United drop points vs Bristol City

Chris Wilder had fears of his own before the Bristol City game, suggesting the ‘unpredictability’ of the Championship could bite his Blades side, and he wasn’t wrong.

Sheffield United had a golden opportunity to put real pressure on Leeds at the top, but they were pegged back in injury time by a plucky Bristol City side and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
1 LeedsLeeds37 23 10 4 74 23 51 79
2 Sheff UtdSheffield Utd37 24 7 6 52 28 24 77
3 BurnleyBurnley37 20 15 2 50 11 39 75
4 SunderlandSunderland37 19 12 6 55 34 21 69
5 West BromWest Brom37 13 17 7 47 33 14 56
6 CoventryCoventry37 16 8 13 52 48 4 56

The point briefly took United to the summit, but it wasn’t enough to keep them there after Leeds’ latest win.

Still, at least Wilder was humble about the game, praising his opposite number Liam Manning for the way he set up his team.

Next up, a trip to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby… no pressure, then.

Norwich City FC v Sheffield Wednesday FC - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Sheffield Wednesday pile pressure on Johannes Hoff Thorup

Speaking of the Owls, they were the story of the week, securing an astounding 3-2 win over Norwich City despite being 2-0 down at half-time at Carrow Road.

Danny Rohl warned Norwich before the game about the confidence levels in his team, but that confidence looked misplaced after the first 45 minutes, with goals from Borja Sainz and Ante Crnac giving the Canaries a comfortable lead.

However, the efforts of Josh Windass and his teammates hauled Wednesday back into the game in the second half, and left Rohl the happier manager at full-time with a stunning turnaround to keep the Owls’ play-off hopes alive.

Naturally, Norwich fans were fuming with the result, and have even started discussing whether Johannes Hoff Thorup has a future at the club after dropping yet more points this season.

John Eustace finds winning formula at Derby County

Eyebrows were raised when John Eustace took charge at Derby County, abandoning his post at Blackburn Rovers in the process.

  • Championship
    • DerbyDerby

      2|0

      CoventryCoventry

  • Championship
    • DerbyDerby

      2|1

      BlackburnBlackburn

  • Championship
    • MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough

      1|0

      DerbyDerby

  • Championship
    • DerbyDerby

      0|1

      MillwallMillwall

  • Championship
    • QPRQPR

      4|0

      DerbyDerby

The scepticism intensified after three games, three defeats, and not even a goal scored for the Rams. But, things have changed.

Derby have now won successive games, beating Blackburn at the weekend and in-form Coventry City on Tuesday night.

Eustace has clearly fixed Derby’s short-term problems, and with results elsewhere, the Rams are now just one point from safety. Cardiff will be looking very nervously over their shoulders at a rejuvenated Derby side and fearing the worst.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
20 Oxford UnitedOxford United37 9 12 16 38 55 -17 39
21 CardiffCardiff37 8 12 17 40 61 -21 36
22 DerbyDerby37 9 8 20 37 49 -12 35
23 LutonLuton37 9 7 21 34 60 -26 34
24 PlymouthPlymouth37 7 12 18 38 74 -36 33

There is still a lot of work to be done, and Derby are going to have to scrap for every point they can muster from here until the end of the season. But, at least now they are showing signs of life, and the great escape could well be on.