Relegation Watch: All Over For Ipswich

We’ve got two sets of results to go through on this week’s relegation watch as the battle to avoid the drop to League One really hits crunch time.

One spot in the bottom three was however confirmed on Saturday as Ipswich Town finally knew for certain that they would be playing third tier football next season for the first time in 62 years. The Tractor Boys drew with Birmingham City after losing to Brentford in midweek, leaving them 14 points adrift with just four games remaining. Find out who is close to joining them below.

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!).

The outside bets

The fact that many bookmakers are no longer offering odds on QPR going down shows how the Rs have all but secured safety following a strong week under caretaker manager John Eustace in which they drew 0-0 with Millwall before thrashing Swansea City 4-0. It has left them eight points above the bottom three and two points above Birmingham City, who also edged ever nearer to survival with a pair of 1-1 draws against Sheffield United and Ipswich Town. The Blues are now a mighty 100/1 to get relegated, but could still have a huge say in who does go down with three of the bottom six still left to play.

19th - Reading (44 points / -16 GD)

• Relegation odds: 12/1 (better than last week)
• Latest results: Norwich City 2-2 Reading; Reading 2-1 Brentford
• Next games: Bristol City (A), West Bromwich Albion (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 9th

It’s been quite a week for Reading, who gained a vital point at Norwich on Wednesday thanks to Andy Rinomhota’s 97th minute equaliser before beating Brentford on Saturday - the only victory recorded by a bottom six side in the last seven days and the Royals’ fourth win in six home games. We arguably have the toughest Easter weekend out of all the relegation candidates though, facing two top six sides.

20th - Millwall (42 points / -13 GD)

One game in hand over other teams

• Relegation odds: 11/1 (better than last week)
• Latest results: Millwall 0-0 QPR; Sheffield United 1-1 Millwall
• Next games: Brentford (H), Aston Villa (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 12th

Two draws for Millwall this week, and they’ll certainly be more happy with one than the other. The 0-0 stalemate at home to QPR may have felt like a missed opportunity, but a point at Sheffield United will have been well received, especially in the manner it came. After trailing from early in the second half, it seemed like the chance to equalise had gone when Ben Marshall missed a penalty, but Jake Cooper (who else?) popped up in the 95th minute with a diving header to spark wild celebrations in the away end.

21st - Wigan Athletic (42 points / -17 GD)

Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

• Relegation odds: 5/1 (worse than last week)
• Latest results: Hull City 2-1 Wigan; Wigan 1-1 Norwich City
• Next games: Leeds United (A), Preston North End (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 13th

Much like Reading, Wigan led for a large period of the game against league leaders Norwich before having to settle for a point. The Latics also led against Hull in midweek before going on to lose, so could be left to rue what might have been come the end of the season. It was a spirited performance against the Canaries, but Wigan have now won just once in the last 12 games and it doesn’t get any easier with Leeds away up next.

22nd - Rotherham United (40 points / -26 GD)

• Relegation odds: 1/3 (worse than last week)
• Latest results: Rotherham 1-2 Aston Villa; Stoke City 2-2 Rotherham
• Next games: Swansea City (A), Birmingham City (H)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 11th

Fighting spirit was once again the buzzword for Rotherham at the weekend, as despite trailing 2-0 at half-time against Stoke, the Millers fought back and gained a point thanks to goals from Michael Smith and Matt Crooks. They’re the only side in the bottom six not to play a team in the top six over the Easter weekend, so may fancy their chances of edging out of the relegation zone.

23rd - Bolton Wanderers (32 points / -43 GD)

• Relegation odds: No odds available (they’ve been that bad)
• Latest results: Bolton 0-2 Middlesborough; Derby County 0-4 Bolton
• Next games: Aston Villa (H), Blackburn Rovers (A)
• Average position of remaining opponents: 11th

After being defeated by Middlesborough in midweek (helping Tony Pulis’s side end their six game losing streak in the process), it got even worse for Bolton on Saturday as they were thrashed 4-0 by Derby. Had it not been for Trotters goalkeeper Remi Matthews then the scoreline would have been a lot higher, and realistically Bolton now need to win all of their remaining four games to stand any chance at all of survival. But even then, it’s a very, very slim chance.