West Brom, Portsmouth, Leicester & Blackburn’s next 5 fixtures compared - who holds the advantage? | OneFootball

FLW compares the next five fixtures for the relegation-threatened quartet and who may rise up the table after them.

The Championship relegation battle is hotting up as we draw nearer to the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

Many sides are still in danger of falling through the dreaded League One trapdoor, with plenty of football left to be played.

Sheffield Wednesday remain rooted to the foot of the table and look all but set to drop back down to the third-tier after being ravaged by a financial mess under Dejphon Chansiri, while Oxford United have it all to do if they are to survive a second successive Championship season.

Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers moved out of the bottom three at the expense of Leicester City with a huge 3-1 victory at QPR in Michael O’Neill’s opening games as boss, while West Brom and Portsmouth hang precariously over the relegation line, although Pompey do have two games in hand on the Baggies.

It is set to be an enthralling watch as all teams involved battle and scrap to save their Championship skins, with it having the potential to go down to the wire to see who will be victorious in their bids.

With this mind, FLW compares the next five fixtures of the relegation-threatened quartet and assesses who may hold an advantage over this period.

The next few weeks for these teams could be season-defining in their quest to retain Championship safety, with points needing to be picked up quickly to remain on course of finishing above the bottom three.

Starting with West Brom, they begin this run by hosting promotion hopefuls Coventry City in a West Midlands derby this coming Saturday lunchtime, and although it may look a daunting task to come away with something at The Hawthorns, the Sky Blues’ form has been teetering and contributed to the pressure ramping up to maintain their place inside the top two.

After that, a mammoth six-pointer awaits as Albion host Charlton Athletic the following Tuesday evening, before they travel to the Kassam Stadium to face relegation rivals Oxford United, a game they simply have to come away with maximum points from.

After the March international break, the Black Country outfit make the trip to the Steel City to face off against Sheffield United before rounding off another midweek round of fixtures by hosting Southampton.

Heading over to the South Coast we find Portsmouth, who will be looking to take advantage of the games in hand they have over their relegation rivals.

Their run begins on Tuesday evening when they travel to the Valley to battle it out with Charlton Athletic, before facing a tricky trip to the Den over the weekend to face off against play-off hopefuls Millwall.

The following midweek sees Pompey back on the road in North Wales against Wrexham, who have wobbled in recent times at home, while the following weekend sees a lunchtime kick-off unfold at Fratton Park between Hull City.

After the international break, Portsmouth return to league action with a huge meeting at Ewood Park with Blackburn Rovers, with the outcome of that potentially crucial to whether they survive another second-tier campaign.

It’s been a whirlwind recent period for Leicester City, whose six-point deduction by the EFL for breaching P&S rules, miraculously throwing away a three-goal lead to lose to Southampton, and Blackburn’s shock victory at QPR last weekend plunging them into the bottom three.

In what has been a dreadful season under the combination of Marti Cifuentes and interim boss Andy King, the Foxes are in real danger of back-to-back relegations and playing third-tier football for the first time since 2009.

Leicester could well have a new figure in the dugout over these next five fixtures, but any appointment will have their work cut out.

This coming Saturday, Leicester make the short trip over to the Potteries to take on Stoke City, although there could be hope there given Mark Robins’ men have fallen away in the race for promotion.

In midweek, the Foxes travel to Teesside to face a motoring Middlesbrough side who look set to seal a return to the big time, before hosting one of the Championship’s most inform teams in Norwich City, who have been completely transformed under the guidance of Philippe Clement, winning six of their last eight league games.

Leicester then face Norwich's East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town at Portman Road after the international break, with Kieran McKenna’s men setting their sights on gatecrashing the automatic promotion places, before rounding off their five-fixture run by hosting Bristol City, with the Robins hovering just outside of the play-offs themselves.

Lastly, Blackburn Rovers’ change of boss looks to have been vindicated, as Michael O’Neill’s Rovers side claimed a huge scalp by winning 3-1 against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road to propel themselves out of the bottom three.

The new manager bounce could well be unfolding at Ewood Park, and there’s no better fixture better to keep the momentum going then hosting a fiery Lancashire derby against Preston North End this coming Friday evening.

In the next midweek round, Rovers have another home clash against Bristol City, before travelling to Pride Park the following weekend to take on Derby County, who have had their fair share of troubles at their own ground.

Returning from the international break, Blackburn have two massive ties, firstly hosting Portsmouth and then travelling to battle it out with Oxford United, two games there that Rovers supporters would be expecting at least four, if not six points from.

When reviewing the fixture lists for the four teams in relegation danger, West Brom and Blackburn Rovers have the biggest opportunities to rise up the standings and get themselves out of the mess they currently find themselves in.

With both the Baggies and Rovers, they’ve got massive clashes against fellow relegation candidates, and while they could be sucked deeper into the mire if they don’t get the results, they will be backed to find the points after seemingly turning the tide in recent times.

Albion have grinded out two goalless draws against Stoke and Birmingham City under Eric Ramsay in their last two league outings, and while they succumbed to defeat at Norwich City in the FA Cup, it was a much-changed outfit and against a team who are one, if not the most inform in the division, so it wouldn't be a shock to see them battle towards more second-tier points when their usual personnel returns.

For Blackburn, their massive win on the road at QPR could be exactly what they need to bolster confidence in the dressing room, with the players holding a belief now that they are good enough to compete in this division and get away from the bottom three.

Meanwhile, for the others, it’s difficult to see Leicester getting many points on the board at all, given their alarming rate of conceding goals and upcoming fixtures against some of the Championship’s top teams, while four of Pompey's next five matches are on the road, which won't be a pleasing aspect given six of their eight wins so far this term have arrived come from Fratton Park.

It will be a fascinating watch as the places will continue to swap over the coming weeks, with some big and established Championship heavyweights at risk of slipping through the dreaded relegation trapdoor.