Ipswich are on the verge of completing a remarkable rise as they return to the Premier League after 22 years, while Leeds expect a fall from their rivals in Saturday’s dramatic conclusion to the race for promotion from the Championship.
Heading into the final round, Ipswich are in second place, three points clear of Leeds.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich need only a draw against Huddersfield, who are almost certainly relegated, to secure a second successive promotion following their exit from League One last season.
A defeat or draw for Leeds against Southampton would also send Ipswich back to the top flight.
However, Leeds have a superior goal difference, so a defeat for the Suffolk club combined with a win for Daniel Farke’s men would earn the Elland Road outfit promotion.
It’s a suitably tense conclusion to a fascinating battle for promotion from the Championship, with Leicester already assured of their return to the Premier League as title winners 12 months after relegation.
As the promotion race heated up in April, McKenna told his players: “It’s not our job to dream, it’s our job to do.”
But dreams will come true at Portman Road if Ipswich secure a lucrative place among the Premier League’s elite after more than two decades in the wilderness.
Four games without a win looked to have relegated Ipswich to a play-off place, but Leeds also stumbled with one win in five matches, paving the way for the Tractor Boys to move into second place by beating Coventry on Tuesday.
“Anything can happen. I don’t expect it to be smooth sailing,” McKenna said of the end of the promotion.
“There will be tension in the game for sure, but it will be a matter of doing enough of the right things to help us stay in control.”
Ipswich would be just the fourth team in the Premier League era to secure consecutive promotions from the third tier, after Watford, Norwich and Southampton.
– Challenged the skeptics –
The last time they played in the Premier League was in 2001-02, when they suffered a shock relegation just a year after qualifying for the UEFA Cup, finishing fifth in the top flight.
Ipswich’s decline reached its nadir in 2019 when they plunged into the third tier for the first time since 1957.
Consecutive seasons finishing in mid-table left Ipswich in purgatory, a dark period that finally brightened on 16 December 2021 with the bold decision to sign McKenna.
The Northern Irishman was seen as a prospect in his first coaching role, but received rave reviews at Manchester United’s youth academy before being promoted to help coach the first team by Jose Mourinho.
The 37-year-old defied the doubters, ending Ipswich’s four-year stay in the third tier and taking them to the brink of the promised land.
Leeds, relegated from the top flight last season, will feel bitter pain if they are sent into the play-off lottery after spending much of the season in the top two.
“It’s no longer in our hands, but the race isn’t over yet,” Farke said.
West Bromwich Albion will secure a play-off place if they beat Preston, although a draw would probably be enough given their goal difference advantage over seventh-placed Hull.
Norwich can also secure a play-off place if they avoid defeat to third-placed Birmingham, who are fighting to avoid relegation to the third tier for the first time since 1995.
Birmingham are a point behind Plymouth and need Argyle to lose to Hull to have any chance of survival.
Second-placed Huddersfield’s vastly inferior goal difference compared to Plymouth means they are realistically at a disadvantage no matter what they do against Ipswich.
Games
Saturday (all at 11:30 GMT)
Birmingham v Norwich, Coventry v QPR, Ipswich v Huddersfield, Leeds v Southampton, Leicester v Blackburn, Middlesbrough v Watford, Plymouth v Hull, Rotherham v Cardiff, Stoke v Bristol City, Sunderland v Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea v Millwall, West Brom v Preston
smg/kca
