Relegation Watch: Wigan Hit Five To Leave Bolton Adrift

This is the feature we never want to write each year, but because Reading Football Club have been pretty useless in the last two years, Relegation Watch is back.

Each week we’ll look back on how the Royals and the other teams down the bottom of the Championship table got on, and see how they’re all shaping up as League One football gets nearer and nearer.

All odds are courtesy of SkyBet, and please gamble responsibility if you do fancy a flutter on which teams will go down (Judas betting or otherwise!).

19th - Wigan Athletic (39 points / -16 GD)

• Relegation odds: 7/1
• Latest result: Wigan Athletic 5-2 Bolton Wanderers
• Next game: Brentford (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 10th

The Latics ended their seven game winless streak in emphatic style, hammering fellow strugglers Bolton 5-2 (with five different goalscorers). The result saw them move up two places and three points clear of danger, and they’ll hope to edge further away from trouble after the international break. 33 of their 39 points this season have come at home, so they’ll fancy their chances when mid-table Brentford visit the DW Stadium with nothing to play for.

20th - Millwall (37 points / -14 GD)

One game in hand over other teams

• Relegation odds: 7/1
• Latest result: N/A
• Next game: Leeds United (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 10th

Millwall’s fixture against Bristol City was postponed this weekend due to their involvement in the FA Cup, giving them a game in hand which won’t be made up until the end of April. After leading Brighton 2-0 in the cup until the 88th minute, the Lions eventually lost to the South Coast side on penalties (Jake Cooper missing the decisive spot kick), meaning their sole focus will now be on Championship survival, which is perhaps bad news for their rivals. A tricky to trip to promotion challengers Leeds awaits next.

21st - Reading (37 points / -16 GD)

• Relegation odds: 15/8
• Latest result: Stoke City 0-0 Reading
• Next game: Preston North End (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 8th

The Royals secured a commendable point in horrid conditions at Stoke to move a point clear of the drop zone. The news that Nelson Oliveira could miss the rest of the season means their survival chances have taken a hit, but the international break has come at the right time as other injured players such as Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Andy Rinomhota aim to get back fit ahead of the visit of Preston. Alex Neil’s side will travel to Berkshire on the back of three straight wins and a 12-game unbeaten run.

22nd - Rotherham United (36 points / -21 GD)

Photo by Ashley Allen/Getty Images

• Relegation odds: 10/11
• Latest result: Rotherham United 1-2 Norwich City
• Next game: Derby County (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 10th

Paul Warne’s side are continuing to show a fighting spirit that has characterised their season so far, and they certainly didn’t make it easy for league leaders Norwich City when they visited the New York Stadium at the weekend. Semi Ajayi is hitting form at just the right time, scoring his sixth goal in five games in a narrow 2-1 loss. It was just a second defeat in nine matches for the Millers, who travel to an out of form Derby County side after the international break.

23rd - Bolton Wanderers (29 points / -37 GD)

• Relegation odds: 1/66
• Latest result: Wigan Athletic 5-2 Bolton Wanderers
• Next game: QPR (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 13th

A heavy defeat to Wigan means that Bolton are now eight points adrift of safety with eight games to play, which looks an incredibly hard gap to make up. However they will take heart from the fact that on paper they have the easiest run-in out of all the teams down there, and after the international break they visit QPR, who have won just once in their last 14 games. Off the pitch issues do continue to persist at the University of Bolton Stadium though.

24th - Ipswich Town (24 points / -32 GD)

• Relegation odds: SkyBet don’t actually offer odds on Ipswich going down as they really are that bad
• Latest result: Ipswich 1-1 Nottingham Forest
• Next game: Hull City (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 11th

Ipswich have been dead and buried for a while now, but they’re at least putting up somewhat of a fight in their few games in the Championship. A 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the weekend was their third draw in a row, and they’ve only lost once in seven games - that defeat coming against Reading. The result also means that they’re no longer in danger of becoming the worst Championship side in history, as they surpassed Rotherham’s 2016/17 total of 23 points.