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Championship preview

Image: Malky Mackay: Looking for Cardiff to strengthen position at the Championship summit

Cardiff City will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the table this weekend, but there are a number of teams in hot pursuit.

Leaders Cardiff visit Ipswich; Leicester host Bristol City

Cardiff City will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the table this weekend, but there are a number of teams in hot pursuit. Malky Mackay's Cardiff moved to the Championship summit with a win over Birmingham City on Tuesday and will be confident of picking up another three points in Saturday's televised late game when they visit a struggling Ipswich Town side looking for only their second victory of the campaign. Leicester City have won four in a row to surge into second place and manager Nigel Pearson, publicly backed this week following speculation linking Harry Redknapp with his job, could see his men go top if they beat an inconsistent Bristol City at the King Power Stadium and Cardiff slip up. Brighton & Hove Albion currently occupy third place, one point adrift of Leicester and two behind Cardiff, ahead of their trip to Pride Park to take on a Derby County team trying to push on from mid-table. Fourth-placed Blackpool returned to winning ways in midweek following a couple of defeats and have an opportunity to keep the pressure on those above them by winning at home against Charlton Athletic, who are hovering just above the relegation zone. Blackburn Rovers are believed to have been flooded with interest for the permanent manager's job following Steve Kean's departure, but this weekend Eric Black will once again be in charge as they come up against another side fighting hard for an immediate return to the Premier League in Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Written off

Peterborough United were being written off after seven straight defeats at the start of the season, but they have won their last two and could haul themselves off the bottom of the table by defeating a Nottingham Forest team without a win in five. Millwall are just above Ipswich and Peterborough as they aim to halt a five-match winless run against Bolton Wanderers, who have not yet made the sort of impact in the Championship that Owen Coyle would have liked. Birmingham are another side surprisingly languishing in the bottom half of the table ahead of their clash with Huddersfield Town, who have slipped out of the play-off places following back-to-back defeats. Sheffield Wednesday go in search of a first win in six at home to Hull City, while there is sure to be a great atmosphere at Elland Road as Leeds United entertain Yorkshire rivals Barnsley. A six-match unbeaten run has propelled Crystal Palace into seventh ahead of their home match against Burnley, while Watford lock horns with Middlesbrough at Vicarage Road in a clash between two teams with greater ambitions than their current mid-table standings.

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