The battle for automatic promotion to the Premier League took a series of fresh twists over the weekend as the contenders endured differing fortunes.
Leaders Ipswich, second-placed Leicester and Leeds in third are separated by just two points with the Foxes having played a game fewer, while Southampton, who have two matches in hand on both the Tractor Boys and United, lie six points further back.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the remaining weeks of an increasingly tense Championship run-in.
Ipswich (1st, played 43, 89 points, +32 goal difference)
The table as it stands… |
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp)
Run-in: Hull (a), Coventry (a), Huddersfield (h).
Ipswich’s unlikely tilt at back-to-back promotions has hit …
Everton manager David Moyes has described the feeling of taking Everton back to Wembley as magical .
Moyes last saw his side play at Wembley in 2009, when they were defeated 2-1 by Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
And the Scotsman is understandably excited ahead of a Merseyside derby against Liverpool in the semi-final of the same competition on Saturday.
To be the manager of Everton and take them back to Wembley again and get the supporters there, I think that s special, Moyes said.
While Everton have been in considerably better form than Liverpool, Moyes did his best to shake their tag as pre-match favourites.
The bookies are very rarely wrong, he said.
The bookies will see Liverpool as favourites undoubtedly and I think that s because o…
PSV Eindhoven winger Dries Mertens has admitted that he would like to play for Bayern Munich in the future.
The Belgian forward is in the form of his life and it is only a matter of time before a big European club come calling.
The 25-year-old already has a preferred destination and he admits he would love to replace Franck Ribery at Bayern Munich.
“Bundesliga is my favourite competition. I especially like Bayern Munich,” Mertens .
“What I would like is to replace Franck Ribery. The style of football, how they dominated Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals. And that stadium history. That is where I want to be.”
Nonetheless, the player wants to spend another season in Eindhoven before making a dream switch to Bayern.
“…
Edouard Mendy is not in contention to start for Chelsea against West Brom on Saturday, Frank Lampard has confirmed.
Chelsea this week paid a reported £22million to sign goalkeeper Mendy from Ligue 1 side Rennes.
The 28-year-old is expected to take over from Kepa Arrizabalaga, who the Blues made the most expensive keeper in the world when they signed him from Athletic Bilbao for £71.6m in August 2018.
Kepa has made two errors leading to goals in as many Premier League appearances this season, though, but will not be displaced just yet.
To start tomorrow is not going to happen, Lampard said when asked if Mendy was in contention to start at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
He s had a long week where he hasn t really trained, flew in yesterday and it ju…
Neymar scored for the 50th time for Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday s Ligue 1 clash with Nice, reaching the half-century landmark in his 57th game.
The Brazil international converted from the penalty spot on the hour mark at the Parc des Princes to cancel out Ignatius Ganago s opener early in the second half.
Angel Di Maria charged into the opposition box and was felled by Patrick Burner, gifting Neymar a goal from 12 yards as he rolled the ball past Walter Benitez.
Having fired blanks in the league games against Monaco and Montpellier, either side of scoring in the Coupe de France final clash with Rennes which PSG lost on penalties Neymar now has two goals in four matches since returning from a three-month lay-off with a foot injury.
It takes him to 50 g…
New interim Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick felt he could not turn down the offer of taking the reins at Old Trafford, even if only on a temporary basis.
United announced on Monday that an agreement had been reached with Rangnick over a relationship that is set to span two and a half years, with him initially taking charge until the end of the season before moving into a consultancy role.
The 63-year-old s start at the club was delayed due to work permit issues, but the club confirmed his paperwork was approved on Thursday and he will take charge of his first game on Sunday when United host Crystal Palace.
Michael Carrick took charge of Thursday s 3-2 win against Arsenal, before the former England midfielder stepped down from his role with the club.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen called upon his team-mates to raise the quality of their performances late in games after they earned a narrow victory over LaLiga strugglers Huesca.
Frenkie de Jong scored a first-half volley that proved decisive at El Alcoraz but Ter Stegen had to be alert to keep Rafa Mir from equalising as the division s bottom club were allowed to attack in the second half.
Ter Stegen acknowledged that Barcelona s display improved on their showing in a 1-1 draw with Eibar last time out in LaLiga, but called for more hard work to put the Blaugrana back in contention for a place in the top three.
For 35 minutes we did very well, we played very good, Ter Stegen told the club s official website.
We had a lot of possession, we …
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic s deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus team unbeat…
Jose Mourinho says Japan s shock World Cup win over Germany was not a crazy surprise, criticising European football s big focus on individuals and egos.
The Samurai Blue produced an inspired comeback from 1-0 down as second-half goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano stunned Hansi Flick s side at the Khalifa International Stadium.
The four-time champions, who led through Ilkay Gundogan s penalty, lost a World Cup match after opening the scoring for the first time since a 2-1 defeat by Bulgaria in the 1994 quarter-finals.
Mourinho, who coached South Korea s Son Heung-min at Tottenham, was not overly shocked by the result, saluting the collective mentality demonstrated by Asian footballers.
History being made in front of our very eyes |
— FIFA …
Javier Zanetti feels Inter Milan will have to improve at home if they are to be successful in the 2012/13 campaign.
The Nerazzurri were beaten 3-1 by Roma at the Giuseppe Meazza after previously drawing at home against Vaslui and losing against Hajduk Split, and the veteran defender feels they have to step up their game in front of their own fans.
We need to improve our performances at the San Siro, but we ve made a lot of changes and of course things can be difficult at the start. We need to get back to our best in front of our own fans, Zanetti told Mediaset.
Inter were heavily criticised after their loss to Roma, and Zanetti was not impressed with the harsh words aimed at the club.
Do I think the media went a bit overboard with their comments after…