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There are just eight games left of the Championship season with today being another crucial day.

With every team down to 10th still in with a shout of a top six finish, let’s check out their final fixture lists and which games could prove to be the most fundamental.

Wolves

Throughout the season Wolves have consistently impressed and have proven to be too strong for most teams in the division.

With Champions League experienced players such as Diogo Jota and Rúben Neves, their attacking threat has seen them pick teams apart with ease all season.

It seemed the league was already won, but Wolves have slowed down recently, picking up just two wins in their last six. However, two wins in a week has helped to stretch the gap to 13 points and surely it is only a matter of time before they return to the Premier League.

The game against Cardiff in April could be key in the battle to win the title.

Remaining fixtures: Boro (a), Hull (h), Cardiff (a), Derby (h), Birmingham (h), Bolton (a), Sheffield Wednesday (h), Sunderland (a)

Cardiff

Remaining fixtures: Derby (TBC), Burton (h), Sheffield United (a), Wolves (h), Aston Villa (a), Norwich (a), Nottm Forest (h), Hull (a), Reading (h)

Neil Warnock is viewed by many as the promotion king and it seems he’s living up to his name this season.

Cardiff have steadily improved as the games have gone by and they have nearly caught with Wolves due to a great run of form.

The Bluebirds have won their last seven games, with big wins over fellow promotion contenders Bristol City and Middlesbrough.

Despite being seven points ahead of third, Warnock’s men face a difficult challenge, with a run of matches against top sides.

If they can pick up a good number of points against those sides such as Aston Villa, Wolves, Derby and Sheffield United, they would end up in a strong automatic promotion position.

Aston Villa on April 10th will prove to be the biggest match for them because the last thing they need is pressure from below and the possibility of being sucked into the playoffs.

Aston Villa

Remaining fixtures: Hull (a), Reading (h), Norwich (a), Cardiff (h), Leeds (h), Ipswich (a), Derby (h), Millwall (a)

Aston Villa had been looking so good in 2018 and their impressive 4-1 win over Wolves proved how far they have come under Steve Bruce.

However, two poor results have knocked the stuffing out of their promotion charge. Defeats to QPR and Bolton has left them with work to do to catch Cardiff.

One thing that will please Villa fans is the run of fixtures left.

Bar Cardiff, Derby and possibly Millwall (who hold an impressive home record), Steve Bruce will surely be thinking that the rest are pretty winnable.

With Villa safely in the playoffs, their only aim will be to catch Cardiff and so their match against them will be a great opportunity for Villa to gain some ground Warnock’s side.

Fulham

Remaining fixtures: Norwich (a), Leeds (h), Sheff Wed (a), Reading (h), Brentford (h), Millwall (a), Sunderland (h), Birmingham (a)

Fulham’s season under Slavisa Jokanović has almost been identical to last year, with a slow start and a late upsurge of form to force them into the playoffs.

Fulham have looked strong lately and most bookies have them as promotion favourites with Wolves and Cardiff.

Key wins against the likes of Villa, Wolves and Derby have been huge in helping them climb the table at a rapid speed.

Saturday's 2-2 draw with QPR puts them off the pace for a top two finish but they are in the play-offs and will be the team to watch.

Derby County

Remaining fixtures: Cardiff (TBC), Sunderland (h), Preston (a), Bolton (h), Wolves (a), Burton (a), Middlesbrough (h), Aston Villa (a), Barnsley (h)

After a strong first half of the season for Derby, they have been showing signs of slowing down recently.

Gary Rowett’s side go into their next game without a win in their last six and the poor form puts them just three points off seventh place Sheffield Utd.

To make the challenge even harder, they face a number of strong teams between now and the end of the season.

Cardiff, Wolves, Preston, Boro and Aston Villa all feature and so for Derby to stay in the playoffs, they will definitely need to pull off some big wins. The matches against Preston and Boro will be the most important however, as they are the ones chasing Derby down.

The Rams will first travel to Deepdale to face Preston on April 2nd and their match against Boro at Pride Park is on April 21st.

Middlesbrough

Remaining fixtures: Wolves (h), Burton (a), Nottm Forest (h), Sheffield United (a), Bristol City (h), Derby (a), Millwall (h), Ipswich (a)

Following a season of under-achievement for Boro, Tony Pulis has managed to get them firing again. They are unbeaten in their last six games with four wins and two draws.

Their success for the rest of the season will go down to how their players can handle the pressure. Sixth position is a hard place to be and they have Sheffield Utd, Bristol City and Preston all peering over their shoulder.

There are definitely some make or break games for the north-east side however. They still have to face Bristol City and Sheffield United, which could either see them drop out of the top six or further increase the gap between themselves and the chasers.

They have three games until then though and by the time those crucial fixtures come along, the league table could look very different.

Bristol City

Remaining fixtures: Barnsley (a), Brentford (h), Millwall (a), Birmingham (h), Middlesbrough (a), Hull City (h), Nottm Forest (a), Sheffield United (h)

What a season of two halves it has been for Bristol City.

With major successes in the Carabao Cup and a brilliant start in the league, which saw them just three points off Wolves in first not too long ago, it seems to have all gone downhill since.

Three wins in 14 matches followed and there were concerns that the Robins were running out steam.

City must use the Ipswich result to kick-on with games against Boro and Sheffield United likely to prove vital.

Brentford and Millwall will also prove to be tough games as fellow play-off rivals before two games that will set the tone for their play-off chase.

They will travel to the Riverside Stadium to take on Middlesbrough on April 14th and their final game of the season against Sheffield United is on May 6th.

Preston North End

Remaining fixtures: Sheff Wed (a), Derby (h), Reading (a), Leeds (h), QPR (a), Norwich (h), Sheff Utd (a), Burton (h)

Preston boss Alex Neil will feel his side have a good chance of catching a playoff place, with a run of relatively winnable fixtures.

They have grown to become a very strong side but their recent form has been inconsistent and their loss to Fulham last weekend, which came courtesy of a 91st minute winner would have been a knock-back.

But they were back to form dispatching Sunderland on Saturday.

On April 28th they will travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United who are in a similar position to themselves, chasing down Middlesbrough.

More importantly, for Preston, they need to try and pick up some consistency and string a few wins together.

This will provide the players with the confidence they need to mount a real promotion push.

Sheffield United

Remaining fixtures: Burton (h), Nottm Forest (h), Brentford (a), Cardiff (h), Barnsley (a), Middlesbrough (h), Millwall (h), Birmingham (a), Preston (h), Bristol City (a)

Sheffield United made a fantastic start to the season under Chris Wilder and back to back promotions has been the aim for a number of months now.

The Blades have fallen off the pace in recent months with consistency lacking rom their game.

Saturday's 0-0 home draw with Notingham Forest continues a frustrating run where they can't string back-to-back wins together following their 2-0 win over Burton in mid-week.

Chris Wilder's side are now among a group of clubs on the chase and if key player Leon Clarke can rediscover his goal-scoring form then they might just be able to push their way back into the top six.

It will be no easy challenge, with the likes of Cardiff, Boro, Millwall, Preston and Bristol city still to play them.

They can see view this in a negative light as it makes their aim harder to achieve with the quality those teams bring, or they can see it as a way of gaining points over teams directly above and below them.

If the league stays the way it is now, Middlesbrough will prove to be the most season-defining game. They will face Pulis’ side on April 10th.

Millwall

Remaining fixtures: Nottm Forest (h), Ipswich (a), Bristol City (h), Bolton (a), Sheff Utd (a), Fulham (h), Middlesbrough (a), Aston Villa (h)

Millwall made it three wins in a row on Saturday with a 2-0 success at Barnsley.

The Lions are still in with a shot but remain in tenth spot, four points away from Middlesbrough.

Neil Harris’ side threw away a number of points earlier in the season away from home, which is why, despite the recent results, they are still on the outskirts of the play-offs.

They have massive fixtures against Bristol city (April 7th), Sheffield United (April 14th) and Boro (April 28th).

Should they navigate these successfully, the in-form Lions are the team to watch in the play-off race.