Birmingham claim vital win in Championship relegation race

Birmingham Claim Vital Win in Championship Relegation Race

Birmingham City were the major movers in the battle to avoid relegation from the Championship over Easter, climbing out of the bottom three by beating Preston North End 1-0 at home.

Blues interim manager Gary Rowett celebrated his first win since returning to the club with a mix-up allowing top scorer Jay Stansfield to run through for his 11th goal of the campaign.

At one point on Easter Monday it seemed likely Birmingham would end the weekend in the drop zone but Stansfield's second-half winner instead moved them to 20th, two points above the line.

Birmingham had gone down 2-1 at QPR on Good Friday - Jimmy Dunne's sensational strike in added time settling that one - but they are now at 10/3 in the Championship relegation odds.

Bottom side Rotherham United could have been relegated over Easter but their on-loan striker Charlie Wyke headed home his first goal for the club to earn a 2-1 win at home to Millwall.

It was just their fourth league win of the season but Rotherham's survival hopes remain very slim. The Millers are 18 points adrift with just six games to go and they could go down on Friday.

Plymouth Argyle sacked head coach Ian Foster after two defeats over Easter left them closer to the drop. They won one of 11 Championship games under Foster's leadership and they will be led by first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell and the club's director of football Neil Dewsnip for the rest of the season, despite relegation battle specialist Neil Warnock declaring his interest. Argyle are now priced at 2/1 to go down and will see Friday's trip to Rotherham as a must-win clash.

Sheffield Wednesday took a point from their matches over Easter to leave the Owls two points from safety with six games to play. Wednesday also have a worse goal difference than their relegation rivals, explaining why the bookies see them as 4/7 shots to be relegated this term.

Fellow Yorkshire side Huddersfield Town are priced at 11/10 in the Championship relegation odds after Monday's 1-1 draw at Stoke City followed a 3-1 home defeat to Coventry City. That point moved the Potters up to 18th and they are now around 14/1 to go down as a result.

Millwall (10/1) are four points above Huddersfield but Monday's loss at Rotherham could be damaging for the Lions. They travel to take on the Terries this weekend in a crucial clash.

Any lingering fears of the drop were eased by Blackburn Rovers (7/1 to go down), with Monday's 5-1 thumping of Sunderland leaving John Eustace's side five points clear of the drop.

Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics scored twice in the first half to take his tally to 23 in the league. He is a clear 4/5 favourite in the Championship top scorer betting odds, enjoying a three-goal cushion from Southampton striker Adam Armstrong in the race for the Golden Boot.