Cardiff City’s late victory over Rotherham has put clear daylight between themselves and the chasing pack in the Championship relegation battle.
Now six points clear of 22nd-placed Reading, the Bluebirds look almost certain to have secured their second tier status for another year.
Barring any last-minute hiccups, a point against either Huddersfield on Sunday or in their final match against Burnley a week Saturday will be enough to mathematically ensure survival into next season.
READ MORE: Rotherham v Cardiff as it happened
The Terriers will arrive at Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday with a game in hand as legendary former Bluebirds boss Neil Warnock looks to spoil the party, or at least delay it until the final day at Turf Moor, depending on results elsewhere.
And rest assured, the Yorkshireman won’t be too happy if he leaves the stadium to warm applause and cheers from the home fans, with three points firmly on his mind.
Now that Cardiff’s own game in hand has been ticked off following tonight’s result, and the games-played column is level with most of those around them, the points at stake in the final rounds of matches look even more crucial to those still fighting for survival.
With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at what the run-in looks like for those scrapping below the Bluebirds for survival.
QPR (19th)
QPR travel to mid-table Stoke City who have nothing to play for at this stage of the season, with their poor form currently demonstrating this. Gareth Ainsworth looks to have turned around what was starting to look like, and to some extent still could turn out to be, a nightmare reunion with the Rs.
A win away to Burnley at the weekend put them four points clear of the drop ensuring that either a win at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday or at Loftus Road against Bristol City on the final day will be enough to secure survival.
Rotherham (20th)
Fourth-placed Middlesbrough will travel to the New York Stadium on Monday with little to play for other than a slim chance of nicking third spot from Luton. Boro have already booked their place in the play-off semi finals and will just be looking to retain momentum going into those matches. Rotherham will therefore be hoping that Michael Carrick’s side’s loss to the Hatters proves to be more than just a blip. The Millers then travel to Wigan on the final day, with the Latics likely to have had their relegation confirmed by then.
Huddersfield (21st)
After their must-win trip to Cardiff City Stadium this weekend, Neil Warnock’s team will face another of his many former sides, already-promoted Sheffield United. The fixture at The John Smith’s Stadium is the Terriers’ game in hand after the Blades’ progression to the FA Cup semi-finals saw the match rearranged for May 4.
Like Cardiff’s hopes for their Burnley trip, Danny Ward and his teammates will be wanting United’s recent promotion celebrations to have taken their toll on preparations. Town then host Reading in what could be a straight survival-shootout on the final day.
Reading (22nd)
Prior to travelling to West Yorkshire, Reading face another relegation six pointer in their penultimate game, hosting Wigan Athletic at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this weekend. Noel Hunt’s side currently have the third-worst goal difference out of the seven sides still in with a shout of going down and the -20 figure could prove doubly costly should they slip up to the sides around them in those final fixtures.
Blackpool (23rd)
A mini-revival under interim manager Stephen Dobbie has seen the Tangerines pick up two wins in four since Mick McCarthy received his marching orders. However, still three points from safety, on a goal difference of -24 and with the most difficult run-in of any of the bottom seven, it is little wonder they are bookies favourites to go down (1/66 with Sky Bet).
They host Millwall tomorrow night with any hopes of survival dependent on Gary Madine and his teammates picking up three points. Failure to do so would see them travel to Norwich on the final day needing a) Huddersfield to have lost against both Sheffield United and Cardiff and b) a victory by a significant margin - or in other words a miracle - to stand any chance of playing in the Championship next year.
Wigan (24th)
Despite the bookies no longer offering odds on the Latics’ relegation prospects, victory over play-off chasing Millwall in their last home game suggests Shaun Maloney’s men intend to fight til the bitter end, however slim their chances of survival.
The ‘Tics must win their final two matches against fellow strugglers Reading and Rotherham, and hope that Blackpool, the Royals and Huddersfield fail to win any of their remaining matches to stand any chance of staying up. To leapfrog Noel Hunt’s side, a win in Berkshire would need to carry with it a seven goal swing in order to overturn their -27 goal difference, a league-worst.
Next rounds of fixtures
Friday
Blackpool v Millwall
Saturday
Reading v Wigan
Stoke City v QPR
Sunday
Cardiff v Huddersfield
Monday, May 1
Rotherham v Middlesbrough
Thursday, May 4
Huddersfield v Sheffield United
Monday, May 8
Burnley v Cardiff
Huddersfield v Reading
Norwich v Blackpool
QPR v Bristol City
Wigan v Rotherham
