Sky Bet Championship: A week-by-week look at the battle to avoid the drop

Ipswich are all but gone in the eyes of many. Paul Lambert's men have been picking up points recently, but the fact they are 13 points from safety with 24 left to play for shows the problem they have.

Bolton, battling off-the-field issues, have done little to inspire on it and are expected to join Ipswich in Sky Bet League One next season.

However, above those two teams, there is a real battle to avoid that third and final spot. Rotherham, Reading, Millwall and Wigan are all within touching distance, while QPR can't rule themselves fully out of it yet.

We've already taken a look at the three-team race for the title in the division - with Norwich, Sheffield United and Leeds all hopeful that they will be lifting the trophy in May.

As stated in that look at the title race, this is a prediction based on what we know with eight games remaining. A lot changes between now and May and teams can hit form, while also finding results hard to come-by despite looking strong at the moment.

There's also the fact that football is sometimes, in the nicest possible way, odd. A team who have struggled for 40 games can suddenly grab victories in their last six as they look to battle the drop - while teams at the top can feel the pressure with the intensity of the chasing pack.

Therefore, the situation could be drastically difference when it comes to opposition as the games tick away. Despite that, based on what we've witnessed in the 38 games so far, we can try and create a judgement on what results we could see.

Here, our Sky Bet EFL man gives us his predictions.