Winners & losers from gameweek 34 in the Championship

04 March 2021 05:45

As if there isn't enough football being rammed down our throats every night currently as is, the Championship continues to work through its hectic as ever fixture schedule.

Seriously, 42 games and then the play-offs? That's absurd at the best of times.

We can't complain, though, because England's second tier throws up some of the greatest moments and is sometimes much more entertaining than the top flight.

90min has picked out the biggest winners and losers from gameweek 34, just for you.


1. Winners - Reading

Perhaps a dark horse in the usual discussions for Premier League promotion, the Royals have bounced back from defeat against bottom of the table to make it two big wins on the bounce.

A 1-0 victory against Blackburn on Tuesday night has seen them sneak into the play-offs at fifth place, two points ahead of Bournemouth in sixth.


2. Losers - Derby County

Derby need to be careful | Cardiff City FC/Getty Images

Wayne Rooney's Rams got absolutely thumped in a 4-0 defeat to Cardiff on Tuesday night, making for a long drive home.

Losing 4-0 is never cool, but it's even worse knowing it leaves them just six points above the drop zone in 18th and undoes some solid results against Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield and Wycombe.

He better book himself back into that hair loss clinic; this season isn't getting any less stressful anytime soon.


3. Winners - Barnsley

Barnsley made it six wins in a row with a 3-1 victory away to QPR, in an attempt to give Manchester City a run for their money with winning streaks.

It puts the Yorkshire club in seventh and just one point off the play-offs with a game in hand. Consider also that they play sixth-placed Bournemouth and a bunch of teams in a relegation scrap, and they could find themselves in an unlikely push for promotion.


4. Losers - Wycombe

Wycombe need a miracle now | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Oh, Wycombe.

Beating Reading with ten men and emerging victorious in a five goal thriller in Huddersfield means nothing when you come up against Watford and Norwich back-to-back.

Defeat to Watford makes it consecutive 2-0 losses and has no doubt smashed up any confidence they had, sitting 13 points away from the safety of 21st place.


5. Winners - Norwich

A huge 1-0 victory against second-placed Brentford sent Norwich ten points clear at the top of the Championship on Wednesday night, with Emiliano Buendia bagging his tenth league goal of the season.

The Canaries barely had a one point lead atop of the table in the middle of February, but now look nailed on to win a second Championship in three seasons.

Just a shame they'll come back to the Premier League to get relegated immediately again, isn't it?


6. Losers - Brentford

Brentford? More like Bottle-ford, am I right guys? | Stephen Pond/Getty Images

Brentford fumbled the bag in gameweek 29 and failed to go top of the table in a 2-0 home defeat.

Since then, they've surrendered any chance of winning the title and sit level on points with third place Watford with the defeat to Norwich.

Fumbling a title charge is one thing, but surely they won't fumble automatic promotion on top of that, right? They play the Hornets on the second-to-last fixture of the season and at this rate, they'll be fighting for mid-table by then.


Source: 90min