How the Championship promotion push between Burnley, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough is expected to play out

Burnley will need to average two points-per-game from now until the end of the season if they're to reach the 100-point mark.
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The Championship leaders, who are 14 games unbeaten in the second tier, are currently surpassing that with a mark of 2.2 from 34 games played.

Vincent Kompany's table-toppers remain 12 points clear of Sheffield United — who own a game in hand — and moved 19 points clear of third place Middlesbrough following a 4-0 win over Huddersfield Town at Turf Moor.

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They take on relegation-threatened Lancashire rivals, Blackpool, at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, with the Seasiders winning once in 17 league games.

Burnley's Connor Roberts celebrates scoring his side's second goal with Nathan Tella

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Huddersfield Town - Saturday 25th February 2023 - Turf Moor - BurnleyBurnley's Connor Roberts celebrates scoring his side's second goal with Nathan Tella

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Huddersfield Town - Saturday 25th February 2023 - Turf Moor - Burnley
Burnley's Connor Roberts celebrates scoring his side's second goal with Nathan Tella The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Burnley v Huddersfield Town - Saturday 25th February 2023 - Turf Moor - Burnley

While the Clarets won't take Mick McCarthy's men lightly, it provides another opportunity for them to close in on the three-figure milestone only achieved by Reading, Fulham, Leicester City, Newcastle United and Sunderland at this level.

However, despite being tipped for the title, an updated predictions table from FiveThirtyEight suggests that Burnley will fall just short of a ton.

The 'supercomputer' has the Clarets finishing top, maintaining their 12-point advantage over the Blades, but finishing on 98 points.

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It is forecasted for Burnley to conclude the campaign 20 points clear of third and a staggering 27 points (the equivalent of nine wins) ahead of the division's sixth place finishers.

The only change from the current top six, according to the most recent update, would see Norwich City finish in the play-off places at the expense of Blackburn Rovers, with Boro, Millwall and Luton Town also being in with a shout of promotion to the Premier League.

According to statisticians and data experts, Burnley now have a 99 per cent chance of being promoted back to the top flight and a 94 per cent chance of doing so as champions.

Following the completion of this weekend’s round of fixtures, data experts at FiveThirtyEight have crunched the numbers and predicted how the final Championship table will look…

FiveThirtyEight’s predicted Championship table

BURNLEY 98 (+48)

Sheffield United 86 (+31)

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Middlesbrough 78 (+22)

Millwall 74 (+13)

Luton Town 74 (+12)

Norwich City 71 (+15)

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West Brom 70 (+14)

Watford 69 (+7)

Blackburn Rovers 69 (-3)

Coventry City 68 (+6)

Sunderland 66 (+11)

Preston 61 (-11)

Bristol City 60 (0)

Swansea City 60 (-4)

Reading 59 (-14)

Stoke City 58 (0)

Hull City 55 (-14)

Birmingham City 53 (-10)

QPR 53 (-17)

Rotherham United 49 (-15)

Cardiff City 49 (-16)

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Wigan Athletic 45 (-27)

Blackpool 43 (-24)

Huddersfield Town 43 (-25)