Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Ipswich Town - who has the hardest fixture run-in? | OneFootball

Football League World looks at the remaining games for the three sides with the biggest promotion aspirations

We're starting to head into the business end of the campaign in the Championship, and all eyes are on who will emerge as champions, who will finish runners-up, and who will have to endure the play-offs to earn their place in the Premier League.

On a points per game basis, Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town are leading the way, and despite Millwall currently sitting between Boro and Ipswich, the Tractor Boys can easily climb ahead with a win in one of their games in hand, and winning both will see them just two points behind Kim Hellberg's side in second.

While there are still just over two months remaining in the campaign, and anything could happen in that time, it's so far looking like it'll go down to the wire between those three.

So, who out of the three title chasers has the "easiest" run-in, when taking into account league position and how well each of their opponents gets on at home or away?

Coventry City

With 13 games remaining for both Coventry and Middlesbrough, and 15 for Ipswich, the average position of the remaining fixtures each team has to play is 13th, albeit with Coventry's exactly 13, and the other two's being 13 and change.

However, when analysing the points per game of each of their final 13 opponents have picked up both home and away, the Sky Blues have the toughest run-in.

Frank Lampard's side are currently sitting top, and will take solace from the fact that they don't have to play either Ipswich or Middlesbrough again this season, but there are still some tough games to navigate.

Coventry still has to travel to the likes of Sheffield United and Swansea City, who haven't lost a home game since late November, and have a final-day trip to Watford, who currently place fourth in the home table this season.

Additionally, the side with the second-best away record, Derby County, still has to come to the CBS Arena, as do Wrexham in the penultimate game of the season, and that could have implications on the promotion and play-off race for both teams.

Overall, when taking into account the average points per game, either home or away, for the remaining opponents, Coventry's remaining opponents are picking up 1.37, which, while still one of the easier run-ins, is actually more difficult than their two immediate rivals.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough has been formidable under Kim Hellberg, but has wobbled slightly in the past few weeks, and is seemingly struggling to win games where they completely dominate possession, as they once again kept over 70% of the ball in their 0-0 draw with Oxford United on Saturday.

Therefore, home games against seemingly weaker travelling sides, as they have against Leicester City, Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday and Watford all before the end of the season, may actually work against them, but from a point per game perspective, it equals an easy Riverside run-in.

Their away games are where things get difficult, though, and they'll definitely show whether this Boro side is ready for the Premier League.

Kim Hellberg's men still have trips to Birmingham City, Swansea City, fellow promotion-hunting Ipswich and Wrexham on the final day to contend with between now and the end of the campaign, all very tough games with a lot riding on them.

So, the home aspect brings the difficulty of the run-in down massively, with their opponent's points per game average sitting at 1.35, and if Middlesbrough can find a way to break down stubborn sides soon, while pairing that with some good performances against top sides on the road, then they'll be in a good place to maintain that top two spot.

Ipswich Town

Ipswich's run of games in terms of opponent difficulty may be the least severe out of the three in this list, with their opponents' point per game average hitting 1.30.

However, the fact that they've got those two games in hand may work against them, given the fixture congestion they'll be dealing with, and then on top of that, nine of their 15 games are away from home.

That being said, three of those away games are against sides in the bottom four for home record, in Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, and Norwich City, and at home, they take on the likes of Leicester, Birmingham, and Swansea, who all don't travel as well as others in the division.

And, their other three home games between now and the end of the season are promotion six-pointers against Hull, Millwall and, of course, that mammoth clash with Middlesbrough on April 18 — the fourth-last game of the season.

Having those battles at Portman Road is key for Kieran McKenna's side, who have the second-best home record in the Championship. Winning those will put them in a healthy position to crack the top two.

Then, if they can really flex their muscles and overpower some of the lesser sides they're still to face between now and May, both Coventry and Middlesbrough may begin to start worrying about their automatic promotion hopes.