midweek scores from promotion and relegation battles

The EFL Championship schedule has been playing catch-up with four midweek games across the last 48 hours impacting both ends of the table.

The English second tier has been hit by COVID-19 enforced cancellations since the start of 2022 and another midweek block of games has allowed sides to knock out some more games in hand.

Additional matches in the second half of a Championship season are par for the course for most battle-hardened sides, but the strain of multi-game weeks can be a test of both promotion credentials and the dogged spirit needed to avoid relegation.

Rovers stalemate at West Brom

Blackburn Rovers (3rd, 54 points) failed to boost their automatic promotion hopes and West Brom (9th, 46 points) lost ground in the play off race as they scrapped to a 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns.

Tony Mowbray’s Rovers now have just two points from their last four games, as they struggle to keep up with Fulham (1st, 64 points) and Bournemouth (2nd, 58 points), while Steve Bruce picked up his first point as Baggies boss.

The hosts carved out a string of half chances before the break, but it was Rovers who had the better of the contest in the second 45, before their star man Ben Brereton-Diaz was forced off with a serious injury late on.

Cardiff and Millwall ease relegation woes

Cardiff (19th, 35 points) and Millwall (14th, 43 points) both picked up vital 2-0 wins in Wednesday night action as they look to edge away from the relegation zone in the coming weeks.

The Welsh side picked up a third successive home win thanks to late goals from Joel Bagan and Mark Harris to beat Coventry and leapfrog Hull City into 19th place.

Gary Rowett’s Millwall continued their positive recent run with a third win in five games via goals either side of the break from Mason Bennett and Tyler Burey to down QPR.

However, there was no playoff boost for Sheffield United (8th, 47 points) at home to Hull, as the Blades dominated possession at Bramall Lane but were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw.

Peterborough face relegation six-pointer

Peterborough (22nd, 20 points) play host to fellow strugglers Reading (21st, 22 points) in Wednesday’s final midweek Championship fixture in a battle of 22nd against 21st.

The Posh have landed themselves an FA Cup Fifth Round clash against Premier League leaders Manchester City later this month, but they are yet to win a league game in 2022.

Reading have plunged right into the relegation battle after seven straight Championship defeats since the turn of the year.