Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Millwall's fixture run-in compared | OneFootball

We compared Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Millwall's remaining fixtures as the trio compete for automatic promotion from the Championship.

It was another dramatic weekend as the automatic promotion race in the Championship between Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Millwall continues to heat up.

It looked as though Middlesbrough were heading for victory against Bristol City in the early kick-off when Leo Castledine gave them the lead in the 65th minute, but Adam Randell's 96th-minute equaliser for the Robins denied them a crucial three points, and they are now without a win in their last four home games.

Millwall had the chance to move into second after Boro's slip up when they faced Blackburn Rovers at The Den, and Luke Cundle gave the Lions the lead in the 54th minute, but after Zak Sturge was controversially dismissed just five minutes later, the visitors capitalised on their numerical advantage, with two late goals from Mathias Jorgensen sealing the win for Michael O'Neill's men.

With Boro and Millwall both dropping points, Ipswich were the winners of the weekend as they beat already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Hillsborough, and while it took them until the closing stages to find the breakthrough, Ivan Azon's strike and Jack Clarke's penalty secured the victory for the Suffolk outfit.

Boro remain in second place, but they are now just two points clear of both Ipswich and Millwall in third and fourth respectively, and the Tractor Boys also have a game in hand on Kim Hellberg's side.

As the season enters the final stretch, we compare the remaining fixtures of Middlesbrough, Ipswich and Millwall as they battle it out for automatic promotion.

Middlesbrough

It is fair to say that Middlesbrough have a mixed fixture list in the remainder of the season, with a number of relatively favourable games, as well as some potentially decisive head-to-heads with their promotion rivals.

Boro make the trip to face relegation-threatened Blackburn at Ewood Park on Saturday, while they also welcome two of the other sides at the bottom of the table, Portsmouth and Sheffield Wednesday, to the Riverside Stadium in April.

Hellberg's men also have two tricky fixtures against teams with an outside chance of reaching the play-offs, with a trip to Swansea City to come on Easter Monday before the visit of Watford in the penultimate game, although the Hornets could be out of top six contention by that point.

However, Boro have three season-defining games over the coming weeks, with a home game against Millwall coming up on Good Friday before a clash against Ipswich at Portman Road on the 18th April, as well as a meeting with Wrexham at the SToK Cae Ras on the final day.

Middlesbrough's remaining fixtures: Blackburn Rovers (A), Millwall (H), Swansea City (A), Portsmouth (H), Ipswich Town (A), Sheffield Wednesday (H), Watford (H), Wrexham (A)

Ipswich Town

While Middlesbrough have a few tough matches in their remaining schedule, it could be argued that Ipswich's fixture list is even more daunting, even though their game in hand does give them an advantage.

The Tractor Boys welcome Millwall to Portman Road on Saturday lunchtime in what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter, while they also have the aforementioned game against Boro to come in mid-April.

However, Ipswich also face two play-off hopefuls before the end of the season, with Birmingham City travelling to Suffolk on Easter Monday before Kieran McKenna's men make the journey to Southampton in their penultimate game.

If those games were not difficult enough, the Tractor Boys take on their bitter East Anglian rivals Norwich City at Carrow Road, where they have not won for over 20 years, but there are some easier fixtures against struggling Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and West Bromwich Albion, as well as the final day showdown with mid-table Queens Park Rangers.

Millwall

Despite their frustrating defeat to Blackburn, Millwall remain firmly in the hunt for automatic promotion, although that could change depending on the outcome of their next two games.

The Lions make the trip to face Ipswich at Portman Road on Saturday before going head-to-head with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Good Friday when the Championship returns after the international break, and defeats in those games could rule them out of the running.

However, if Millwall are able to come through those fixtures unscathed, their remaining matches represent an excellent opportunity to claim a top two spot, with three mid-table sides in Norwich, QPR and Stoke City to come, as well as three of those fighting relegation in West Brom, Leicester City and Oxford United.

Of course, there are no easy games in the Championship, and with the Lions losing at home to both Portsmouth and Blackburn in recent weeks, they cannot take anything for granted, but, on paper, they have the kindest run-in of the trio.