Sky Sports data guru simulates all remaining Championship games – this is what happens to Leeds & West Brom
The Championship is gearing up for an imminent return and it means Leeds United will get their wish of playing for promotion on the field.
Now the nerves kick in. We’ve got to admit that we’ve already got butterflies about the thought of playing Cardiff in less than a fortnight’s time. And don’t even get us started on Fulham after that.
Sky Sports have come to the rescue. Their data guru Ben Mayhew has simulated every one of the remaining 108 fixtures to work out who finishes where.
And it’s good news for Leeds fans.
All the stats point to Leeds going up as champions.
The Whites have been given a 98% chance of being promoted automatically – 71% as champions and 27% as runners-up. That’s just a 2% chance of going up via the play-offs.
West Brom should be coming up with us – they’ve got a 90% chance of a top-two finish.
Fulham and Brentford have been given very slim hopes of making the top two (around 5%) but are 90% to make the play-offs.
That’s more welcome relief for Leeds fans, although we’d still prefer that to read 100%.
Next up for Leeds, though, is a big EFL vote which is set to take place on Tuesday afternoon.
That will deal with what will happen in the event of the season getting curtailed – either from a second Coronavirus spike or other safety concerns.
We fully expect the Championship to vote to play on and we hope that relegation stays on the table. Not because we’re vindictive but because it’s crucial not to set a precedent that Premier League strugglers could seize on.
Then it’s all full steam ahead for the opening game of the nine-game mini-season – away at Cardiff and the quest to turn that 98% into 100%. We can’t wait.
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