How Cardiff City, Hull, Derby County, Plymouth Argyle and Luton’s final 6 fixtures compare | OneFootball

Comparing the final six fixtures for the bottom five teams in the Championship this season

The Championship relegation battle is hotting up as we approach the final few months of the season.

There are a number of clubs outside the bottom three that are still at risk of sliding into League One.

Luton Town, Plymouth Argyle and Derby County are all still very capable of going on a run that could lift them out of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Cardiff City and Hull City are on the verge of replacing one of those three, with their form suggesting this battle could go all the way to the final day.

Here we compare the final six fixtures each club will encounter in this tightly contested relegation battle…

Hull City and Cardiff City’s final six games

Hull and Cardiff are two of the clubs that are in potential relegation trouble heading into the final couple of months of the season.

Omer Riza’s side still have to play Plymouth and Hull, but their final six fixtures see them take on the likes of Preston North End, Stoke City and Oxford United, who are all likely to have little to play for by the time those games come around.

However, clashes with Sheffield United (A), West Brom (H) and Norwich City (A), with the latter two being their last two matches, could prove quite tricky, as all three are competing for promotion.

Hull don’t have quite the same luxury of avoiding their main rivals at the end of the campaign, as they will face Derby on 26 April in their penultimate game.

The Tigers will also face Preston, as well as Watford (A), Coventry City (H) and Swansea City (A), as well as Portsmouth on the final day, who themselves could yet be involved in this relegation battle.

Derby County, Plymouth Argyle& Luton Town's final six Championship games

Derby also have a home clash against Preston to come in the final six games, as well as the aforementioned trip to Hull on the second last weekend of the season.

But the Rams also have a crunch clash against Luton in their fourth final fixture, which will take place at Pride Park, with John Eustace’s side also facing Portsmouth (A), West Brom (A) and Stoke City (H) to end the campaign.

Miron Muslic has had a positive impact at Plymouth since arriving in January to replace Wayne Rooney, but it will still take some work to overcome the gap to the teams ahead.

Their final six fixtures involve no games against their relegation rivals, although they also face Preston, meaning the Lilywhites could yet be real kingmakers in this tussle at the bottom this season.

The Pilgrims do have two big games against Sheffield United and Leeds United to come, both of which are at home, and they will be hoping the two sides have settled their automatic promotion battle by the time they visit Home Park, with the Whites coming on the final day.

Plymouth also face play-off-chasing Middlesbrough (A) and Coventry City (H), giving the club a tough end to the term if they are still in that relegation mix come that time.

And, finally, struggling Luton will come face to face with Derby, as mentioned above, on April 18, in what could be a true six-pointer.

The Hatters will begin their run-in on 8 April with a trip to face Stoke City, followed by a home game with Blackburn Rovers.

Matt Bloomfield’s side end their campaign with games against Bristol City (H), Coventry (H) and West Brom (A), but they'll need to lay a lot of groundwork before then to get out of the trouble they are already in.