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As the Championship season reaches it’s conclusion on Wednesday, there is still a lot at stake near the top of the table in what promises to be an action packed evening.
On Thursday Leeds United won promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years, also clinching the title over the weekend, but the battle for the second automatic spot is still up for grabs in what has been a topsy-turvy season in the second tier of English football.
West Brom boss Slavan Bilic all but gave up on automatic promotion following the defeat to Huddersfield on Thursday. When asked if he expects Brentford to lose to Stoke city, he responded;
“I don’t expect that, to be fair. We will be ready for QPR and play-offs.”
Again, the unexpected happened. Brentford blew their chance to climb to second after falling to defeat at the Bet365 stadium, having needed four points from their last two fixtures to secure promotion to the Premier League for the first time. After winning all eight games since the restart, the defeat against Stoke could not have come at a worse time for the Bees, leaving it all to play for on the final day of the regular season.
They head into what could be the final ever game at Griffin Park, against relegation battlers Barnsley, well aware that even a win may not be enough to secure second place. Manager Thomas Frank has urged his players to forget about Saturday’s result:
“We have to keep our heads up. We have an important game on Wednesday. We lost a very tight game against Stoke but that is the past.
“We need to do everything we can to be ready and take our chances. We have one more big game. I promise we will be ready to fight.”
West Brom will host Brentford’s West London rivals QPR knowing that a win will secure promotion. It’s not going to be straight forward however. They’ve failed to win any of their last three games and the pressure has been showing since the restart. Bilic however believes his side are ‘optimistic and confident’.
Speaking ahead of the game against QPR he said;
‘That’s where we belong (in the top two)
“Now one game before the end of the season, we are in a position to cross the line.’
“We are confident, we are optimistic, I’m extremely positive that we are going to do it. We are ready for the game on Wednesday.”
Fulham are another club with a firm eye on second Place. The Cottagers are undefeated in their last six outings. Should they win against Wigan and Brentford and West Brom both lose, they will head straight back into the Premier League at the first asking.
