Simon Jordan names the two EFL Championship clubs who will win promotion | OneFootball

Simon Jordan has backed Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town to earn automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.

Simon Jordan has revealed the two clubs he believes will win automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough moved to the top of the league via their 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Monday, which came thanks to goals from Tommy Conway and Riley McGree.

Meanwhile, Coventry City, who have slipped to second courtesy of their poor form, face the new league leaders in a mouth-watering clash on 16 February.

Third-place Ipswich Town are also set to have a major say in the top-two race, and currently boast a game in hand over both the Sky Blues and Boro.

Ipswich Town tipped to seal automatic promotion to the Premier League

Kieran McKenna's men would rather occupy an automatic promotion spot with 16 Championship games remaining, but instead sit five points adrift of Frank Lampard's side.

However, talkSPORT host Simon Jordan believes that the Tractor Boys will land a top-two place come the end of the season, which will be music to McKenna's ears.

Speaking live on air on Tuesday afternoon, Jordan said: "I'm tipping Ipswich (for automatic promotion), and I maintain my tipping of Ipswich.

"If Middlesbrough continue in this vein, if I’m tipping Ipswich to be promoted, and subsequently subscribing to the view that Middlesbrough have now got a hold of themselves, how can I now lay a claim for Coventry to be automatically promoted?

"I will accept their promotion through the play-offs."

Ipswich travel to Wrexham in the FA Cup this Friday, whereas both Boro and Coventry have already been knocked out of the competition and do not have a fixture until their hotly anticipated Championship meeting.

The Tractor Boys have back-to-back encounters with the Red Dragons, who they clash with in North Wales in the second tier just eight days after their cup tie.

Coventry City must defeat Middlesbrough to restore confidence as Championship promotion race heats up

Coventry's poor form is summarised by the fact that they have earned just two wins from their last eight Championship encounters, which has allowed Middlesbrough to leapfrog the Sky Blues, who they previously sat 10 points behind.

For Jordan's Ipswich prediction to come true, though, Lampard's men will have to endure further slip-ups, thanks to their current five-point buffer over the Tractor Boys.

Meanwhile, to get both their automatic promotion bid and title challenge back on track, Coventry must defeat Middlesbrough next week to prevent their winless run from extending to four games.

The Sky Blues showed the quality that still exists among their ranks in recent triumphs over Midlands rivals Leicester City and play-off candidates Millwall, but defeats at the hands of Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers, as well as a 0-0 draw with Oxford United, soon followed.

If Boro defeat Lampard's men, they will have earned a seventh consecutive win, which will add further evidence that Kim Hellberg's side have what it takes to seal promotion to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Ipswich remain hot on the heels of the Sky Blues, thanks to Saturday's 2-1 win at Derby County, and will be eager to earn further victories in their upcoming clashes with Wrexham and Watford.