Championship Preview: Title glory in sight for Leicester

Leicester City can win the Championship title against QPR on Saturday if Burnley slip up at Blackpool in Friday’s action.

Nigel Pearson’s side lead the league by seven points with four matches to play after a 1-1 draw at Reading on Monday.

Leicester – who have already sealed their return to the Premier League after a decade away – came from behind at the Madejski Stadium, meaning the title is within touching distance.

First they will need Burnley to lose to struggling Blackpool – who are 20th, just two points above the relegation zone – at Bloomfield Road on Friday.

Blackpool’s predicament makes the game tougher than it looks on paper for manager Sean Dyche though, with the hosts sure to put in a fighting display.

Burnley can also seal their promotion, if they win and Derby fail to get all three points at Doncaster Rovers, having last played in the Premier League in the 2009-10 season.

Leicester will be keen to bounce back from their last fixture at home, a 4-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion after promotion was sealed, when Harry Redknapp’s side visit the King Power Stadium.

Fourth-placed QPR can effectively seal their place in the play-offs with a win.

The race for a play-off berth continues to intensify with Wigan Athletic’s clash against Reading on Friday crucial for both sides.

Wigan, who sit fifth, are just five points ahead of Bournemouth in ninth, who stormed into contention on the back of a recent five-match winning streak.

Reading are three points behind Wigan in sixth and will leapfrog their opponents with a win at the DW Stadium, while Brighton and Ipswich Town – level on 64 points with Nigel Adkins’ side – will hope to boost their goal difference at Huddersfield Town and Watford respectively.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth will look to extend their six-match unbeaten run at home against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday.

While the races for the title and play-offs command attention, things are equally interesting at the bottom of the Championship.

Barnsley received a huge boost on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory at fellow strugglers Charlton Athletic, a result which lifted them off the foot of the table.

Their next task is a Yorkshire derby against Leeds United at Oakwell on Saturday. Barnsley have won the last four matches between the two sides at the venue, scoring 14 goals in the process.

Things are getting desperate for bottom-placed Yeovil Town, who are five points adrift of safety, and they travel to a Blackburn Rovers side who are unbeaten in eight.

Blackburn’s Jordan Rhodes has scored four goals in his last four matches, taking him to 24 for the campaign.

Ian Holloway’s Millwall have found another gear recently, with a four-match unbeaten run – including two wins – taking them to within a point of safety.

They go to a Middlesbrough side who have won their last four matches.

Elsewhere on Friday, Charlton host Bolton Wanderers, and free-falling Nottingham Forest face Birmingham City on Saturday.