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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

The results Swansea City now need to keep play-off dream alive after Burnley and Sheffield United favours

The Championship play-off race took yet another dramatic twist this week.

Burnley and Sheffield United have officially secured first and second place respectively while Luton Town and Middlesbrough are continuing to battle it out for third and fourth.

But the final two top-six berths are well and truly up for grabs, with no fewer than eight teams in the running to clinch the fifth and sixth spots.

READ MORE: The glut of contract worries facing Swansea City amid fears same old mistakes are being made

Burnley's 1-0 success over Blackburn Rovers combined with Sheffield United's 2-0 triumph against West Brom mean the eight sides vying to clinch a play-off place all now have just two games left to play.

So, what do Swansea City need in the latest round of fixtures to keep their hopes alive? First and foremost, they need to beat Hull City. Victory over the Tigers will guarantee that, mathematically at least, Swansea will go into the final day of the regular season with a chance of gate-crashing the top six.

There are six other key fixtures taking place this weekend that the Jack Army will be keeping an eye on.

The first sees Millwall travel to Blackpool on Friday night, and a home win would be the dream scenario for the Swans, although a draw would also keep things interesting.

As for the 3pm Saturday kick-offs, Coventry City v Birmingham City, Sunderland v Watford, Sheffield United v Preston North End and West Brom v Norwich City all have a huge amount riding on them while Blackburn Rovers v Luton Town on Monday night is also a key fixture.

Coventry are currently fifth with 66 points, so the Swans ideally need a huge favour from Birmingham, although, again, a draw would not be a disaster, with the Sky Blues heading to Middlesbrough on the final day.

Sunderland, who are sitting in sixth with two games remaining, could do with dropping points at home to Watford, ideally with the Hornets winning at the Stadium of Light.

Blackburn welcome high-flying Luton to Ewood Park, and, given that their goal difference is -3, they find themselves in a tricky situation. Again, a Hatters win is the perfect scenario, although a draw is sufficient given that Rovers travel to Millwall on the final day.

One of West Brom or Norwich City will be out of the running after this weekend, and a Baggies success or a draw guarantees that Swansea will finish above both clubs if Russell Martin's men win their final two games. A Norwich victory would most likely leave Swansea needing the Canaries to drop points at home to Blackpool on the final day.

As for Sheffield United against Preston, anything other than a win for Ryan Lowe's men will do the trick.

So, the dream scenario is as follows:

Blackpool v Millwall - home win

Coventry City v Birmingham City - away win

Sunderland v Watford - away win

Sheffield United v Preston North End - home win

West Brom v Norwich City - home win/draw

Blackburn Rovers v Luton Town - away win

Hull City v Swansea City - away win

What are the chances of the results panning out that way? SkyBet offer odds of 2060.08/1 for the above outcomes to happen.

Prior to the 3-0 win over Norwich, SkyBet weren't even offering odds for Swansea to be promoted, although they have gone from 250/1 on Monday to 100/1 ahead of the latest game week, such have been results elsewhere.

They were 250/1 to finish in the top six heading into their clash with Norwich, but they are now down to 28/1 to repeat their final day exploits from 2020.

Championship play-off race

5. Coventry City - P 44, GD 10, PTS 66

6. Sunderland - P 44, GD 10, PTS 65

7. Millwall - P 44, GD 7, PTS 65

8. Blackburn Rovers - P 44, GD -3, PTS 65

9. West Brom - P 44, GD 6, PTS 63

10. Preston North End - P 44, GD -8, PTS 63

11. Norwich City - P 44, GD 5, PTS 62

12. Swansea City - P 44, GD 3, PTS 62

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