One of Leeds and Sheffield United could face Aston Villa in the play-offs.
Leeds United and Sheffield United do battle this weekend in the Championship knowing the winner will be one step closer to automatic promotion.
The pair are battling it out with Norwich City and only two of the three will achieve their ambition the easy way.
For the loser, the play-offs awaits.
Dropping into third place is always challenging, especially when there are teams with full momentum gatecrashing the play-offs.
The team Leeds or Sheffield United will be desperate to avoid in this scenario is Aston Villa.
Villa are in fine form, winning three games in a row since Jack Grealish’s return from injury.
Dean Smith’s side are now in eighth place, two points shy of sixth.
Unlike Villa, Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Derby in fourth, fifth and sixth between them boast just one win combined from their last three matches each.
Momentum is on Villa’s side and their squad is packed with quality, with a midfield of Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane among the best in the Championship.
They will not be a comfortable match up at all for Leeds or Sheffield United, who while they have shown better consistency over the course of the season, will be at real risk of losing to Villa in the play-offs.
This raises the stakes for this weekend’s match and the rest of the run in for the Whites and the Blades.
Missing out on automatic promotion and ending up with a play-off semi-final against Villa is among the worst case scenarios right now.
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