Predicted Championship table: Where Middlesbrough, Coventry and Wrexham are likely to finish
Middlesbrough remain firmly in the race for automatic promotion into the Premier League this season.
Middlesbrough boosted their hopes of securing promotion into the Premier League with an impressive win at Birmingham City on Monday night.
On-loan Newcastle United defender Matt Targett led the way with a well-taken brace that caught manager Kim Hellberg by surprise and a second-half strike from David Strelec were enough to see off the Blues and ensure Boro remained within five points of current Championship leaders Coventry City.
Perhaps more importantly, it ensured Hellberg’s men moved on from a small dip in form after they suffered a defeat at Coventry and laboured to home draws against relegation threatened Oxford United and Leicester City. Confidence and momentum has been restored by the win at St Andrews and all focus has now gone on another tough looking test as Boro travel to Queens Park Rangers on Sunday afternoon before they return to Teesside for a Riverside Stadium double header with Charlton Athletic and Bristol City over the following week.
The race for promotion is rapidly approaching its final stages and every single game matters as Boro look to end their absence from the Premier League - but where are Hellberg’s side predicted to finish in this season’s Championship? We take a look at the latest predicted final table produced by the stats experts at Opta.
The latest Opta predicted final Championship table
Champions: Coventry City - 90.45 points Automatic promotion: Middlesbrough - 84.50 points Play-offs: Ipswich - 82.19 points, Millwall - 78.71 points, Hull City - 77.14 points, Wrexham - 72.91 points Staying in the Championship: Southampton - 69.75 points, Derby County - 66.28 points, Watford - 66.08 points, Sheffield United - 64.98 points, Bristol City - 64.25 points, Birmingham City - 64.11 points, Preston North End - 63.15 points, Queens Park Rangers - 60.81 points, Norwich City - 60.16 points, Swansea City - 59.66 points, Charlton Athletic - 54.87 points, Portsmouth - 53.90 points, Blackburn Rovers - 50.65 points, Leicester City - 48.60 points Relegated: West Bromwich Albion - 47.52 points, Oxford United - 45.01 points, Sheffield Wednesday - 1.89 points
What did Kim Hellberg say about Birmingham City 1-3 Middlesbrough?
Speaking after the win, the Boro boss said: “It was a good day. There will be pressure all the time. Now the form has changed because we have seven wins, two draws and a loss, strongest in the league so that’s how quick it can change. We win, we lose, we work the same way. One loss in two years at this place for Birmingham and a Premier League team (drew) here two weeks ago (Leeds in the FA Cup). They are a very good side and how we handled this game apart from the first 10 minutes feels brilliant.”