It is Lampard v Bielsa and a West Midlands derby in the Championship while Mansfield take on tricky Newport
Away from all of the talk of peering over fences and peeking through bushes, at least 180 minutes of on-field entertainment will separate these bickering teams. Marcelo Bielsa’s side need to stop the rot, and fast, having warmed up for the tail end of the season by losing to the worst team in the division. As for Derby, they should take confidence from their recent run of four wins in six matches. History suggests Leeds, despite flagging, have the best chance of being promoted. Since 1992, the inception of the play-off system in its current four-team format involving the teams between third and sixth, the third-placed team have the most favourable record. In those 27 seasons, that team have won promotion on 10 occasions (37%), compared with fourth four times (15%), fifth eight times (30%), and sixth five times (18%). In the past 10 seasons, the third-placed side have won promotion on five occasions. The worrying thing, as Bielsa said, is that his squad will struggle to “reproduce the same level of performance” again next season.
Related: Championship roundup: Norwich take title, Boro and Bristol City miss play-offs
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