We may have only just edged past the halfway point in the season, but it already feels as if the automatic promotion places in the Championship have been decided. With wins this weekend, both Burnley and Sheffield United made it four in a row to extend the gap between themselves and the play-off chasers.
Vincent Kompany’s Clarets are quite clearly the standout team in the division, but the Blades are making sure their title parade isn’t a foregone conclusion. Since his arrival, Burnley have lost just two league games from 24, played the most attractive football in the league and torn teams apart on a regular basis.
Their most recent 3-0 win over Birmingham saw the best of their summer signings. Kompany came into a club that was selling star players left, right and centre. James Tarkowski, Maxwel Cornet, Dwight McNeil, Nick Pope, Ben Mee and Nathan Collins all left the club, but with some of the £73m raised, the new boss was able to build from scratch.
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It turned into the perfect time for a new way of thinking at Turf Moor and the former Manchester City defender has got his signings spot on. Anass Zaroury has been superb, Josh Cullen brilliant in the middle of the park and Arijanet Muric solid in goal. His loan signings, using his connections have also impressed as Ian Maatsen from Chelsea and Man City’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis have established themselves as top end prospects.
With their current form, their place in the Premier League next season is all but secure after just one year away. Meanwhile, Sheffield United have come back with a vengeance under Paul Heckingbottom after suffering a heart-breaking play-off defeat last term. When the club brought in, and then sacked Slavisa Jokanovic, most from the outside viewed it as a mistake.
However, just as he did last term, the 45-year-old has galvanised the squad. His rock solid back three comprised of Ciaran Clark, John Egan and the outstanding defender in the league - Anel Ahmedhodžić, has conceded just 21 goals in 24 matches, which has provided the perfect platform for success.
Iliman Ndiaye has been sensational up front, James McAtee has provided an energetic attacking outlet and Sander Berge and Oli Norwood can lock things down in midfield. After a 3-1 win over Coventry City, the Blades put themselves eight points clear of third place Blackburn Rovers.
Given their form and the strength of both squads, it is difficult to see any slip ups from the top two. Behind them however, is a hot mess of teams falling over themselves to finish in the play-offs. Blackburn, Watford and Norwich City all lost last time out but remained in the top six, while Millwall currently hold the much-coveted sixth spot.
John Dahl Tomasson’s Rovers are third because they simply haven’t drawn a game this season. Watford and Norwich have both now sacked managers and seemingly been in turmoil for the majority of the season, but the strength of their squads sees them in play-off contention. Depending on the next appointment, the Canaries could be the most likely to put pressure on that seemingly insurmountable top two.
The state of the Championship can be summed up by looking at the points totals. Norwich in 5th sit on 35 points, just three points clear of Swansea in 16th. They are currently closer to the bottom three than they are the top two. Come New Year’s Day, any side all the way down to Russell Martin’s Swans could feasibly be in the play-off places.
Outside the top two, it’s fair to say it is anybody’s guess. It could be to do with a lack of quality in the rest of the division, a lack of consistency or pure bad luck, but if a side can string together three or four wins, they will find themselves right in the mix. The top two might look like it is already decided, but the unpredictability is what makes the Championship the best league in the world.
