McCoist has had his say on the competition for the top two Championship berths, which is expected to go down to the wire.
Former footballer and manager turned commentator Ally McCoist has predicted which of the Championship’s top four teams will gain automatic promotion to the Premier League.
With just over a month remaining in the season, everything is still up for grabs at the top of English football’s second division.
Leeds United currently leads the way with 81 points, but only because they have a +2 goal difference over their fellow Premier League team from previous season, Leicester City, who had led the race for the majority of the season.
Ipswich Town is closely following them, seeking for back-to-back automatic promotions after finishing second in League One this season.
The points tally alone, with Ipswich just a point behind the first two, suggests a three-horse race, but Southampton’s games in hand may keep them in contention.
They have two games in hand on Leeds and the Tractor Boys, as well as one on Leicester. Even if they won both, they would still be fourth in the table, but only two points below third place.
| Championship Table (As it stands March 28th) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leeds United | 38 | 42 | 82 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 37 | 41 | 82 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 38 | 31 | 81 |
| 4 | Southampton | 36 | 26 | 73 |
Any of the four could take the top two slots, which come with automatic promotion to the Premier League, and it is difficult to predict who those teams will be.
Ally McCoist’s verdict on the Championship Promotion Race
McCoist, a regular pundit on talkSPORT, has shared his thoughts on how the second-tier playoffs will play out and who will automatically go to the top division.
Speaking to Football League World on behalf of talkSPORT BET, the former Scottish international lauded the league’s toughness and thanked those at the top for keeping the run-in intriguing.
“I love the Championship man, honest to god,” McCoist admitted.
“To win the Championship, you have to be at the top of your game every Saturday and Tuesday; it is a tough league.
“I’m going to give you the gospel truth: two-and-a-half to three months ago, I felt Leicester and Ipswich were easy, but it was just me underestimating the league again. But it’s been great; they [Leeds] have clawed it back.
“Leeds’ home performances have been fantastic; Ipswich went through a really tough phase, but I believe they’ve done amazingly well to regroup and kick on, and what a job Kieran McKenna is doing, by the way; he’s done an unbelievable job over the last couple of years.
“And Leicester, as I said, I thought they were out, but they’ve been drawn back in, and by that, I mean that there may be three or four clubs vying for the automatic places.
“I’ve got to tell you, I noted Leeds’ home form has been fantastic, but one of the best performances I’ve seen in a long, long time came from Southampton for around 65-70 minutes at Anfield (in the FA Cup in February). They moved the ball around quite nicely. Again, another good young manager (Russell Martin) whom I know well.
“I believe it is quite difficult to make a call. I believe Leeds has momentum and will rise, which would be really exciting for me. They are a club that I enjoy watching, and I enjoy visiting Elland Road.
“I know Southampton have a couple of games in hand, but they need to win them to have a realistic chance of making the automatic spots.
“If they don’t, I think it will be between Leicester and Ipswich, and, if you poke me with a stick, I’d probably lean towards Leicester at this moment in time.”
Southampton will have a huge say on who gets promoted automatically.
Even though the Saints are the least likely of the four to win automatic promotion, their next fixtures will have a significant impact on how the promotion race plays out.
In their remaining ten games, they still have the three clubs above them to face.
Taking points away from direct promotion competitors benefits not only the winning team, but it can also aid or hinder other teams competing for spots.
None of these games will be played at St Mary’s Stadium, but that’s not all negative because Southampton has been the fourth-best club in the league away from home this season; they’ve been the sixth-best team at home this season, so it might be viewed positively.
Leeds, Leicester, and Ipswich will all be pleased that their games against the Saints will be played at home.
