Ipswich Town supporters will love Harry Clarke passion as they move ahead of Leeds and Leicester | OneFootball

Ipswich Town have been the biggest beneficiaries during the start to Easter weekend as the only top four side to win on Friday.

The race for promotion was always likely to heat up considerably for each Championship side this weekend, especially for those chasing automatic promotion.

The Championship automatic promotion race is set to be one of the most intense and hotly contested in many years with the pace being set at an all-time high, as every side has an average of two points per game or higher at this stage.

It's an unprecedented scenario and leaves very little room for error at the moment. Leicester looked like they were running away with the title but are now third thanks to recent struggles.

Easter weekend signifies the beginning of the run-in, where the schedule is more congested than usual and is a critical period for teams at both ends of the table. Leicester lost their game to Bristol City, whilst Southampton struggled to capitalise with a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough.

Leeds United drew 2-2 away to Watford, but Ipswich won against Blackburn Rovers, in a result which sent them top of the league. However, there are bound to be many more twists and turns before the end of the season, and the spot in second could easily change hands multiple times between the four clubs involved.

Ipswich react to going top of the Championship

Ipswich returned to the Championship after four seasons in League One, with Kieran McKenna guiding them to second place with 98 points, and quickly set about establishing themselves as one of the teams vying for automatic promotion again this term.

His attractive, possession-based football was always likely to translate well to the second tier, if everything clicked into place. After a year of tactical and individual development with McKenna in charge, that always looked like a possibility of coming to fruition.

Conor Chaplin's early goal earned Ipswich top spot for the first time since matchday three, although they have sat second for 24 of the 39 gameweeks in the second tier so far, and always been in the race since the first game of the campaign.

Chaplin's mis-hit shot in the ninth minute should have been saved but it beat Rovers' keeper Aynsley Pears at his near post and that's how things finished at Ewood Park. It sparked jubilant scenes at full-time, with Ipswich's local man, Harry Clarke, leading the celebrations in front of the away end:

Ipswich Town go top of the Championship

The coming games are pivotal, and have the potential to be season-defining for many of the sides involved.

Ipswich have rarely led the table, and have often been a chaser to Leicester or Leeds in first place, which is a different kind of pressure.

They take on Southampton (H), and Norwich City (A) next, whilst Leeds and Leicester themselves face tricky fixtures of their own with the likes of Hull, Coventry, and Norwich also to play.

The differing kick-off times are likely to see things change around plenty in the top four, and don't rule out Southampton from having a huge part to play, either.