Features

Newcastle close on quick return

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 23/03/2010
Football betting

The Championship promotion race is gathering momentum and it is as tight as ever, with Newcastle United the only side looking destined for a rise.

Following last season's relegation from the Premier League, the Magpies, who are the sportsbook favourites to win the league, look set for an immediate return to the big time after hitting a rich streak of form under manager Chris Hughton.

They top the table by two points and more importantly, sit ten points ahead of third-placed Nottingham Forest.

Sharp-shooters Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands have been singing the tune, with their goals aiding a run that has brought just one league defeat in 22 matches.

West Bromwich Albion hold a healthy eight-point cushion over Forest in the second automatic promotion place but with a string of injuries hampering them, the Baggies may well sweat in the final stages of the campaign.

Who will grab promotion from the Championship at the end of the campaign? - Latest Football Betting

However, it is the play-off shake-up that looks set to end in mouth-watering fashion.

Reading, all the way down in 13th place, have a realistic outside chance of grabbing a spot after their recent revival, despite spending much of the campaign in and around the relegation zone.

Preston North End and Barnsley, who sit either side of the Royals, must gather some quick wins to turn their fortunes around.

Middlesbrough's indifferent season still sees them with a chance of making the top-six but they must act quickly.

With players such as David Wheater, Julio Arca, Scott McDonald, Barry Robson and Gary O'Neil at the club, it could be costly if the Riverside Stadium outfit fail to make it back into the top-flight at the first time of asking.

Coventry City and Blackpool may find it tough to maintain their lofty positions in the top half let alone push on for play-off honours, but they will certainly be striving to aid their cause.

Doncaster Rovers, guided by the shrewd Sean O'Driscoll have amazed many this term.

With Billy Sharp's goals firing them up the Championship pile, the unfashionable Keepmoat Stadium outfit find themselves in eighth place and just six points outside the top-six.

Kevin Blackwell's Sheffield United would have banked on the play-offs as an absolute minimum at the start of the season and his side are on the fringes after an up-and-down campaign.

Welsh duo Swansea City and Cardiff City are locked in a fierce battle and are both in healthy positions, sitting fifth and sixth respectively.

East Midlands outfit Leicester City occupy fourth spot behind Forest and they look good value to keep hold of their position in the top-six despite star man Matty Fryatt being out injured.

With less than a quarter of the season left to play, it promises to be a nail-biting finish to determine who finally reaches the money-spinning Premier League in the summer.

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