Football League Reaction: Five big questions answered

11Apr 2013

Forget the Champions League for a minute; the Football League is where it's all happening, as Christian Crowther discusses...

Does Cardiff's stumble matter?

Cardiff's latest failure to pull away at the top of the Championship will have some Bluebirds fans' curtain twitching once more. Victory against struggling Barnsley would have left the leaders potentially a win away from promotion, but a 97th-minute Tykes equaliser ensured that the gap back to Hull is now an assailable-looking six points, especially with a trip to the Tigers to come on the last day. Despite winning just two of their last eight league games, Malky Mackay's men are still available as the 1.12 faves for the title, though Hull at 10.0 certainly now have a decent sniff at the Championship crown. While the title race remains open, Cardiff's nine-point gap on Watford should at least see the Welsh side secure their automatic promotion target.

Are Sheffield Wednesday safe now?

With such a concatenated looking table in the second tier, it's still viable that two of around eight teams at the bottom (assuming bottom club Bristol City are a lost cause) could fall through the Championship trapdoor. That said, Sheffield Wednesday's latest win - courtesy of Chris Maguire's last-gasp winner - should now see the Yorkshire club playing their football in this division again next season. That victory elevated Wednesday to the lofty position of 14th, where they join Birmingham and Ipswich on 53 points, six points off the drop. More importantly, their form is good enough to stay up.

Have Sheffield United choked again?

Danny Wilson's side have chosen exactly the wrong time to start back-pedalling in the League One promotion race and, with their record of play-off failure, it's not looking good. Once again, their home form is proving the Blades' Achilles heel as Crawley's 2-0 win made it four straight games at Bramall Lane without victory. The spectre of the play-offs is now looming over the Yorkshire club once more with Bournemouth on a seemingly unstoppable winning march towards automatic promotion, having notched six straight victories. You can currently lay the Blades at 3.3 for promotion.

Can MK Dons make the play-offs?

Having made the play-off places in three of their four previous seasons in League One, MK Dons certainly know what it takes. The Dons are currently four points off those hallowed spots and rated at 5.6 to penetrate the top six by the time the last balls of the League One season are kicked. With the shape of the play-off picture, Swindon in sixth look just about the only catchable team and, given the Robins are in terrible form, Milton Keynes' momentum could yet see them gatecrash the play-off party.

Are Bradford returning to Wembley?

Having recorded their third straight win in League Two to displace Exeter in seventh, Bradford's promotion ambitions are getting ever closer to being realised. The Bantams are now 1.71 for a top-seven finish and, on current form, the Capital One Cup finalists may not be capping their ambitions at a return to Wembley. With a game in hand over third-placed Burton, Phil Parkinson's side can go within three points of Albion and still have them to play at the Coral Windows Stadium in the penultimate game.