Championship fans were treated to a Monday night spectacle as Watford and West Brom played out a 3-2 thriller at Vicarage Road.
Two strikes from Ken Sema – one heavily deflected – alongside Ismaila Sarr’s strike proved too much for the Baggies to overcome. The visitors had drawn level twice during the game through Conor Townsend and Jed Wallace.
The clubs have been Premier League regulars over the years but it is Watford who appear the more likely to return to England’s top flight sooner than West Brom at this stage.
At the top of the Championship remain Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. The Clarets haven’t lost in the division since early November or in any competition since December, when they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Manchester United.
Sheffield United, the last team to beat Burnley in the Championship, are second but consecutive defeats to Middlesbrough and Millwall – both of whom are in the playoff conversation – has seen their grip on second place loosen.
Boro are third following an impressive run of five straight wins under new manager Michael Carrick, with Luton seven points back with Rob Edwards in charge now in charge.
Watford‘s Monday night victory sees the Hornets jump into fifth, a point ahead of Sunderland, Millwall and Blackburn.
Norwich had been strong favourites for promotion back to the Premier League and could still do so, but the Canaries’ form has been wildly inconsistent, seeing them drop to ninth.
West Brom have also struggled for results recently. Bristol City have gone eight games unbeaten but five draws in that run mean they only sit 15th.
Coventry, Swansea, Hull and Preston may fancy late charges for a top six space, but Reading seem to be running out of steam.
Down at the bottom end of the Championship, there are a number of teams facing the possibility of relegation to League One.
Wigan, Blackpool and Huddersfield all sit on 31 points in the bottom three, needing major changes to avoid relegation. Huddersfield have brought in Neil Warnock, while Wigan currently have Shaun Maloney in charge having ditched both Leam Richardson and Kolo Toure.
Rotherham, who went up from League One last season, are also in the mix. Cardiff, Stoke, Birmingham and Queens Park Rangers are all better off but can’t be discounted from the conversation just yet – QPR in particular have gone ten games without a win.
Credit: 90min.com
