How the race for Premier League football is shaping up

There is still a large portion of Championship football to be played between now and the end of the season. At the time of writing, most of the teams have just played their 28th league games of the season, meaning that there are still a gruelling 18 games standing between them and the final league standings, without even counting the play-offs.

As things stand, it is Brentford who are the odds-on favourites to finish the season as champions according to the Paddy Power Championship odds, whilst Norwich City and Swansea City are expected to follow suit and gain promotion to the Premier League via a second placed finish and winning the play-offs, respectively.

Of course, a lot can change over the next few months, and it is still incredibly tight at both ends of the table. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at how the race for Premier League football is shaping up.

1. Brentford – 57 points

Brentford have been in inspired league form of late, and a lengthy period without defeat has saw them climb up the table. Victory over Reading midweek saw them go top of the table and you now have to go back over 20 games to find the last blemish on their record, a 3-2 defeat to Stoke City on gameweek seven. Thomas Frank’s side deserve praise for their free-flowing style of late, which includes emphatic 7-2 and 4-1 victories over Wycombe and Middlesbrough, and for that reason, they are the favourites to go up.

2. Norwich City – 55 points

Norwich will be hugely disappointed that they have let their comfortable lead at the top of the table slip. A victory over Bristol City saw the Canaries extend their gap at the top to seven points. However, Daniel Farke’s men are now without a win in three (2D,1L), failing to even find the net, and now Brentford have stolen the top spot. They need to get back into winning ways and fast if they want to avoid falling out of the automatic promotion places.

3. Swansea City – 53 points

Swansea have been there or there abouts in terms of the play-off places so far this season, and that is a credit to their consistency. Steve Cooper’s side haven’t lost since their defeat to Derby County in mid-December and have won an impressive six of their eight league games since then. Now, they are hot on the heels of the league leaders, and given their form, they might feel they deserve more than just a play-off spot.

4. Reading – 48 points

Reading are leading the chasing pack, albeit only five points adrift of the Swans in third. They went unbeaten in seven games before losing to Brentford. Veljko Paunovic’s side are putting up a good fight for promotion to the top flight for the first time since they were relegated in 2013. However, in their seven games without defeat, they werne’t been able to put together a solid winning run, and whilst W-D-W-W-D-W-D is not to be sniffed at, the gap could have been smaller had they managed to find a winner in those three 0-0 draws.

5. Watford – 48 points

Watford have fallen off the pace somewhat in the last couple of weeks. A 2-1 win away to Stoke on January 22nd was their third successive league victory and it fired them up to third in the table. However, a defeat wedged in between two draws since then has resulted in the Hornets dropping down to fifth, and whilst they still boast an eight-point cushion over ‘Boro in seventh, Xisco will be hoping that his side can find a winning formula again soon to reinstate their promotion hopes.

6. Bournemouth – 45 points

There was a point earlier in the season that Bournemouth found themselves firmly in the top two. However, after a torrid spell, which included five defeats in eight league games, the Cherries quickly fell down the table and Jason Tindall was given the boot after just six months. Stand-in gaffer Jonathan Woodgate seems to have steadied the ship with a 3-2 win over Birmingham City, but there is now some 10 points between the south coast side and the top spot.

Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke and Bristol City won’t have given up on their promotion hunt either.