Leeds United's route to automatic promotion as fixtures of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton compared

The Championship promotion race is as exciting as ever as Leeds United battle Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton for a spot in the Premier League. In a rare instance, all three relegated sides are in the thick of the promotion charge, while Ipswich Town have defied the odds and remained involved in the battle.

As things stand, Leicester lead the way and with a six-point advantage over Leeds in second and Ipswich in third, with only goal difference separating second and third. Southampton are currently five points behind in fourth. But what run-ins await the automatic promotion hopefuls? Below we run you through who each team has left to face and the current average position of their remaining opponents. Take a look below as we discuss the remaining fixtures.

Leicester City's remaining fixtures

QPR (H), Sunderland (A), Hull (A), Southampton (H), Bristol City (A), Norwich (H), Birmingham (H), Millwall (A), Plymouth (H), West Brom (H), Preston (A), Blackburn (H).

Average position of opponents: 11.8

We'll start with Leicester's run-in, and it's clear the Foxes are likely to be promoted this season, whether they are champions or not. They have to drop more points than anyone else to fall out of the top two, and the vast majority of their opponents are from around mid-to-lower table. Southampton and West Brom are the only two teams on that list who have been consistently dangerous this season. They should be fine.

Leeds United's remaining fixtures

Huddersfield (A), Stoke (H), Sheffield Wednesday (A), Millwall (H), Watford (A), Hull (H), Coventry (A), Sunderland (H), Blackburn (H), Middlesbrough (A), QPR (A), Southampton (H).

Average position of opponents: 15.5

Leeds have the best run-in on paper, as shown by the average position of their opponents. While no win comes easy in the Championship, they could realistically extend their winning run to 11 games by the time they face Watford away from home, and the automatic promotion picture would look a lot clearer if they were to manage that. The current predictions suggest Leeds will need 94 points or more to secure promotion, and with Coventry, Sunderland and Southampton the only fixtures that stand out as tough on that list, they should be confident of picking up 22 points.

Ipswich Town's remaining fixtures

Plymouth (A), Bristol City (H), Cardiff (A), Sheffield Wednesday (H), Blackburn (A), Southampton (H), Norwich (A), Watford (H), Middlesbrough (H), Coventry (A), Hull (A), Huddersfield (H).

Average position of opponents: 12.4

Ipswich have done brilliantly to get back on track after a winter wobble, and they can expect to remain in the conversation over the coming weeks with five very winnable games ahead of facing promotion rivals Southampton at home and playoff hopefuls Norwich away. They then have a tougher run of games, facing a number of sides who will be bidding for a top six spot ahead of a more friendly home clash with Huddersfield to end the season. The Tractor Boys need to be consistent in the games they should win over the next four weeks to give them the best chance down the stretch.

Southampton's remaining fixtures

Birmingham (A), Preston (H), Sunderland (H), Leicester (A), Middlesbrough (H), Ipswich (A), Blackburn (A), Coventry (H), Watford (H), Cardiff (A), Stoke (H), Leeds (A).

Average position of opponents: 10.5

Southampton's ultra-consistent run has come to an end of late, and they now have the unenviable task of making up five points while having the most difficult run-in. Their next two games are very winnable, but they then have four tricky clashes on the bounce, culminating in a date with promotion rivals Ipswich. They should beat Blackburn, but Coventry and Watford won't be gimmes, and after winnable games against Cardiff and Stoke, they end the season away to Leeds. The Saints are worst placed on all fronts. Can they rediscover their consistency to prove the doubters wrong? They must, or they will enter the playoff lottery.