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Play-Off Race Hots Up as Coventry Drop Points AGAIN - EFL Championship GW31 Roundup

EFL Championship Gameweek 31 Roundup

Matchweek 31 of the EFL Championship saw action and excitement all around the grounds, and key goals and points won and lost at both ends of the table.

Here is our roundup of all the fixtures that took place this weekend across Englands second tier.

Charlton Athletic 0-0 QPR

A Friday night London derby at the Valley was shaping up to be a blockbuster encounter as Charlton hosted QPR, however it unfortunately ddi not quite live up to any potential expectations.

The two sides played out a goalless draw in south-east London, a result that doesn't do too much to QPR's season, as they sit in the mid-table area with both having little hope of reaching towards the playoff places but also little fear of entering the relegation fight.

Charlton however sit just four points above the relegation zone, however have seen improved form in recent weeks with two wins from four before Friday's stalemate, and will be the happier of the two sides.

The game however wasn't without its chances, with their being 30 shots in total, with four on target for both. But none found the back of the net.

Norwich City 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Philip Clement's Norwich revolution continued at Carrow Road as the Canaries defeated a blunt Blackburn Rovers 2-0 in Norfolk.

The beginning of the season saw Norwich potientially look destined for League One, however Clement has got the Canaires in their groove, with the win over Blackburn being their fourth in five games.

They had to wait until the 73rd minute for the breakthrough, but finally got it through Anis Ben Slimane, and that lead was doubled just five minutes later as 21 year-old Mohamed Toure scored on his Championship debut for the club.

For Blackburn, it was another bleak afternoon with Rovers failing to manage a shot on target at Carrow Road. The club now find themselves 22nd in the table and firmly in the fight for survival.

Southampton 1-0 Watford

Southampton claimed a third win in four games at St. Mary's as a second half winner saw them defeat Watford.

In a game not blessed with many clear chances, it was always going going to be decided by a bit of individual brilliance, and that's exactly what the home side got with twenty minutes to go, as a superb header was powerfully smashed in by Cyle Larin on his debut for his new side to break the deadlock.

The away side, who are once again looking for a new permanent manager following the resignation of Javi Gracia, are now without a win in five and in strong danger of slipping towards the bottom half of the table.

The three points for Southampton meanwhile lifts them into 14th, and now only four points off the top six in an incredibly tight top half.

Derby County 1-2 Ipswich Town

A late winner by left-back Leiff Davis secured Ipswich a big win away vs Derby County at Pride Park in a game between two sides in strong recent form.

After a tough start to life back in the second tier, Kieran Mckenna and Ipswich have found their spark in recent months, and are right in the fight for an automatic promotion spot. With the win at Derby putting them four points below Middlesbrough who occupy second place.

Derby, who who had three wins and a draw in four heading into their clash with the Tractor Boys, fell a goal down early thanks to an own-goal by midfielder Lewis Travis. However, found their equaliser an hour of action later from the spot as Rhian Brewster converted a penalty.

But with less than fifteen minutes of normal time to play, a deep cross was met by Davis who matched, if not surpassed, the header scored by Cyle larin at Southampton, as the left-back thumped his header into the net to once more give his side the lead, to which they held on to claim a crucial win.

Birmingham City 2-1 Leicester City

A bad week for Leicester City got even worse on Saturday, as they were condemned to defeat in a midlands derby vs Birmingham City at St Andrews.

The Foxes were deducted six points due to a breach of PSR regulations, which resulted in the club dropping down just outside the relegation zone, and things aren't much better off the pitch, with the latest result a fourth defeat in five.

It didn't take long for the home side to take advantage, as Ibrahim Osman opened the scoring for Birmingham inside three minutes. However, an equaliser from Abdul Fatawu, his seventh in a fine individual season, restored some positivity and hope.

However, that did not last long. As Leicester were reduced to ten players shortly after thanks to a straight red card for Bobby De Cordova-Reid on the half hour mark.

As Birmingham pushed for the lead in the second half, they eventually found the goal they were looking for on 67 minutes through Jay Stansfield, the forward sneaking through the Leicester backline and finishing well across the goalkeeper to give the blues their third win in their last four to push them into 10th.

Preston 1-0 Portsmouth

Preston claimed their first league win in four as Portsmouth were narrowly defeated at Deepdale thanks to a first half winner from Alfie Devine.

Portsmouth have been in fine form of late, osing just once since early December in the league. And had more shots and more possession then Preston, but fell to defat to Paul Heckingbottom's side.

It was yet another superb header that won the match, as on-loan midfielder Devine looped his effort past the portsmouth keeper and that effort would prove enough for the three points.

Preston have been one of the surprise teams of the season, and are in with a shout of earning a playoff place.

West Brom 0-0 Stoke City

A match between two sides right near the bottom of the form table predictably finished 0-0 at the Hawthorns as struggling West Brom and Stoke City each failed to find a much needed victory.

Eric Ramsey is still looking for his first victory as West Brom manager, but will take postives from a more encouraging perfroamnce from the Baggies, who are in desperate need of somethign to shout about as they look to move away from fears of relegation.

Stoke started the season strongly, but are now without a league victory in five matches. With Mark Robins facing a challenge to get their season back on track.

Wrexham 0-2 Millwall

Millwall were victorious in North Wales in. a huge clash between two sides with playoff ambitions.

The statistics of the afternoon favoured the home side, with Wrexham having more possession, shots and big chances than their opponents. But Millwall were clinical, and scored with both of their two shots on target.

THe breakthrough didn't come until the hour mark, as a cross was turned into his own net by Wrexham defender Max Cleworth. And despite the best efforts of the Welsh side, it would be Millwall who found space on the break in the final stages, and striker Josh Coburn smashed in a powerful finish to double the lead, leaving former Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo with no chance.

The result keeps Millwall above Wrexham in fifth place, whilst Wrexham do retain their place in sixth despite defeat.

Hull City 2-3 Bristol City

The most thrilling game came at Hull as despite a game which only included ten shots, five goals were scored as Bristol City edged the encounter to stun their hosts.

Hull have been one of the biggest surpirse packages of the season, as they find themsleves firmly in the playoff hunt after escaping relegation last season. And they got off to the perfect start in this game as Oli Mcburnie scored his 12th goal of the season to give his side the lead.

However, Bristol City would turn the game on its head within six minutes as two quick-fire goals saw them go into the break 1-2 up. And they would add to that lead just five minutes after the break, as Emil Riis Jakobsen netted his eighth Championship goal of the season.

However, the most entertaining action of the afternoon didn't involve any of the players, as followign the third goal for Bristol a grey squirrel entered the action and paused play for ten minutes as it caused havoc across the pitch.

Eventually the squirrel was caught Hull would manage to pull a goal back with twenty to play, but Bristol City held on for a key victory which lifts them up to 8th in the table and just outside the playoff places.

Coventry City 0-0 Oxford Utd

The third 0-0 of the Championship weekend, Frank Lampard's league leading Coventry are experiencing tricky run of form, and failing to beat Oxford at home to stretch their winless run to three will do little to ease the anxiety for the Sky Blues.

Coventry had 70% of the possession throughout the match, but despite failing to take any of their chances, were given a boost when on-loan from Tottenham forward WIll Lankshear was given a straight red card in the 77th minute.

However, Coventry still couldn't find a breakthrough, and eventually dropped two points, allowing in-form Middlesbrough to close the gap to one point.

For Oxford, it represents a superb result, and one much needed as they fight for their place in the league.

Swansea City 4-0 Sheffield Wednesday

It was another miserable weekend for followers of Sheffield Wednesday, as they failed to score for a tenth game in a row as Swansea made light work of them in South Wales, winning 4-0.

The Owls failed to even register a shot on target, and as they sit on -7 points, relegation may as well be confirmed already.

Swansea opened the scoring on 19 minutes, but it took until the 70th to double their lead. But they eventually did through Slovenian striker Zan Vitponek.

The Slovenian would double his tally for the game soon after, reaching 15 league goals for the season for the Swans. Before a fourth was added in the final minutes to pile misery on Wednesday.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Oliver Seymour

Freelance Content Writer

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