Championship final day: What Middlesbrough need to do to secure Premier League return

The Championship promotion race has gone down to the final day, and Middlesbrough still have the chance to seal an automatic return to the Premier League.

A seven-game winless run left Boro in serious danger of falling out of the race to go up, but Kim Hellberg’s men have kept their hopes alive with back-to-back victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Watford. What do Boro need to do to secure automatic promotion, and how could things pan out? Read on for everything you need to know.

Championship promotion race: Fixtures and standings

The three remaining automatic promotion contenders - Ipswich Town, Millwall and Boro - are separated by just two points heading into the final day of the season. Boro are the outsiders on 79, with Ipswich in the box seat on 81, with Millwall between them on 80. The Tractor Boys also lead the way on goal difference with +30, while Boro hold an advantage over Millwall in this area, though it’s impossible for those two sides to finish on the same points while also overtaking Ipswich.

In terms of the final day fixtures, Boro certainly have the toughest task, going away to a Wrexham side needing to win to ensure they fend off Hull City for sixth place. Meanwhile, Ipswich host mid-table QPR and Millwall are at home to already-relegated Oxford United. The formula is very simple for Boro, with Hellberg’s side first needing to focus on winning their game to stand any chance of going up automatically. If Ipswich lose and Millwall fail to win, Boro will go up, while a draw for the Tractor Boys would leave the Teessiders needing to overturn that five-goal deficit in North Wales. If the two sides finish level on goal difference, goals scored comes into play, with Ipswich currently holding a 77-70 advantage.

A Millwall win would also end Boro’s hopes of jumping into second, but Hellberg and his players will surely be completely focused on just winning their match and seeing how the chips fall. All matches take place at 12:30pm on Saturday.

What has Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said about promotion race?

While Boro and Millwall can apply pressure, it’s Ipswich who hold their fate in their own hands. So, what does manager Kieran McKenna think? Well, his side come into the weekend off the back of a 2-2 draw at fifth-place Southampton, snatching an equaliser in the 87th minute, and there is plenty of confidence to be taken from that performance.

“It was an outstanding performance with all the things that we want to be as a team,” McKenna said after the match at St. Mary’s. “We didn’t manage to get the win that we really wanted but as much as we said a draw isn’t any different than a loss, a draw is in how we feel going into the weekend and how it came about.

“We look forward to the weekend now. We go into it with confidence and belief from the work across the season and how that was evidenced in the game tonight. We know it’s going to be tough, we know it’s going to take a big, big push from everyone, but we believe that we’ll find it.”

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