MIDDLESBROUGH’s 1-0 win at Brentford strengthened their quest for an automatic promotion spot, but with seven points separating the Championship’s top six a lot can happen between now and May. Sports Writer Steph Clark goes through the runners and riders and assesses which teams are best placed to finish in the top two.

IT’S getting to that time of the year again, when teams begin to fall away and others emerge as late contenders to secure promotion to the Premier League.

Bournemouth, Derby and Middlesbrough kept the heat on each other with wins at the weekend, but Ipswich, Brentford and Watford are ready and waiting to make their moves.

With 17 games left to play, everything is still to play for, but who is best placed to win automatic promotion?

BOURNEMOUTH
Position: 1st
Current form: WWLWLW
Key man: Callum Wilson

EDDIE HOWE’S side have been top since before Christmas, but with pressure coming from the teams behind the big question is whether they can fight off the challengers and stay there.

The Cherries did open up a small gap over the festive period, but two defeats in their last four mean the pressure is on once again and their wobble will give the others confidence.

With a tally of 59 goals from 28 games, Howe has developed an exciting attacking unit spearheaded by Callum Wilson and if they continue their free-flowing attacking play it will be hard for others to keep them at bay.

Interestingly, only Derby and Middlesbrough have managed to keep clean sheets against the south coast outfit, and one potential weakness their rivals would have identified is their record at the Goldsands Stadium.

Half of their defeats have come on home soil this term, while they have dropped points on six occasions in front of their own fans. The visits of Derby and Boro will undoubtedly give a clearer indication of whether Howe’s men can maintain their position.

DERBY COUNTY
Position: 2nd
Current form: WWWLWW
Key man: Chris Martin

LAST season’s play-off final defeat to Queen’s Park Rangers will still be in the minds of Steve McClaren’s squad, and they will be keen to secure their place in the Premier League without having to go up via the play-offs this time.

The heartache of QPR’s last minute win at Wembley doesn’t appear to have dented the Rams’ confidence and they have made the iPro Stadium a real fortress.

The fact Brentford, Watford and Boro are all still to come will give McClaren’s men a psychological boost, but their form on the road has been rocky at times and that will need to be addressed before the end of the season.

Chris Martin has contributed 16 goals and with Johnny Russell their next highest scorer with six McClaren can ill-afford to lose his star man even after the arrival of former Sunderland striker Darren Bent.

MIDDLESBROUGH
Position: 3rd
Current form: WDDWWW
Key man: Grant Leadbitter

A quick glance down Boro’s remaining fixtures identifies a crucial week that could define which league they start next season in. Boro host Ipswich (March 14) before travelling to Derby and Bournemouth in the space of seven days.

While the Teessiders flirted with the play-offs under Tony Mowbray, this is the first real promotion challenge they have mounted since being relegated from the Premier League in 2009 and that is largely thanks chairman Steve Gibson’s support and the managing capabilities of Aitor Karanka.

The Spaniard has made his side extremely difficult to break down, while he has plenty of options in attack. More importantly, players are claiming the head coach has transformed the mentality in the dressing room and there is a strong belief they can claim automatic promotion. The £2m capture of Adam Forshaw sent a message to the rest of the challengers that Boro mean business, and although they have four of the top six to play they have only lost to Ipswich so far.

IPSWICH TOWN
Position: 4th
Current form: WWLWLD
Key man: Tommy Smith

MICK McCarthy’s men have stuttered since reaching the top two over Christmas.

One win in their last four games has seem Derby and Boro leap-frog them, but McCarthy has bags of experience when it comes to the Championship - more than some of his opposite numbers.

One thing that is clear with the Tractor Boys is that they are prone to a blip every now and then and have already endured a couple of four or five game winless runs. At this stage of the season, repeating that would weaken their grip on the top two. They have 18-goal striker Daryl Murphy at their disposal, but he has scored only one goal in his last five games and it is no coincidence that the Suffolk side have dropped points in that time.

BRENTFORD
Position: 5th
Current form: LLWWWL
Key man: Jonathan Douglas

THE Bees had a steady start to life in the Championship, but a run of ten victories in 15 games has propelled Mark Warburton’s men into the mix. They have seen off the likes of Derby, Wolves, Blackburn, Norwich and Fulham, but conceding has certainly been a problem for the London club, who have the worst goal difference in the top six.

The arrival of Jack O’Connell from Rovers will offer another option at the back, but the question will be whether they can maintain their form among some seasoned Championship clubs. They have the experience of being in this position in the past having been involved in two promotion races in League One and Bournemouth are already setting an example that it can be done at the next level.

WATFORD
Position: 6th
Current form: LWLWWL
Key man: Troy Deeney

THE second highest scorers in the Championship may have lost to leaders Bournemouth on Friday night, but given the amount of changes that have been made at Vicarage Road it is testament to the squad that they remain in the running for promotion.

The Hornets are onto their fourth manager of the season in Slavisa Jokanovic having been led by Beppe Sannino, Oscar Garcia and Billy McKinlay earlier in the season.

Watford have been knocking on the Premier League door for a few seasons now and the closest they came was in 2012/13 when they lost in the play-off final to Crystal Palace.

They are always there or thereabouts, but the question is whether they have what it takes to make one last push. They have one of the deadliest front lines in the league with Troy Deeney, Matej Vydra and Odion Ighalo, but they haven’t quite shown the consistency to challenge the top two.