How many points do Leeds United need to secure automatic promotion to Premier League?

Leeds United continue their chase for automatic promotion, still trailing Ipswich Town in the race for second place, two points off the Tractor Boys and five points behind leaders Leicester City.

We had another dramatic night in the promotion race on Tuesday, with all of the top three winning. Leeds and Leicester won narrowly, while Ipswich bounced back from behind to win 3-2 thanks to a late flurry of goals. Ten games remain for the top three, while Southampton have 11 including Wednesday night's clash with Preston - their game in-hand.

It's set up to be an enthralling promotion race that is likely to go to the wire, and the coming weeks should show us who can handle the pressure of the four-way battle for a spot in the Premier League, but how many points are likely to be required to secure top spot?

Promotion averages

Looking back at the last 10 Championship seasons, the average tally to finish in second place is 85.6 points, though the average achieved by the second place team in the Championship during that time is a tough more at 89.6.

The Burnley side from 2013/14 and the Brighton side from 2016/17 achieved the highest totals for second placed teams during that time, with 93 points, and it's likely to be an unusually-high number this season, given the teams involved and the number of points that are already on the board. Leeds actually won the league with 93 points during their last promotion year, and they will likely need to surpass that number just to finish second.

Ipswich in second already have 78 points on the board with 30 points still up for grabs, while Leeds have 76. According to the latest FootballWP prediction, Ipswich will finish third with 97 points and Leeds will get second with 101, suggesting a potential record number of points for whoever finishes second. For perspective, the 97 points is the sixth-highest points tally ever achieved in the Championship, with Norwich City winning the league with that total in 2021.