Fight to go up and stay up continues

Big relegation battle at The Valley tonight

Much has been said of the situation at the top of the league. Leicester's draw at Reading last night has taken them to 90 points. They are already promoted and their seven point lead over us is surely going to be enough for them to end the season as champions.

They would have to collapse now, I think, not to win the title, just as we'd have to collapse not to go up with them. There's been widespread panic because we lost to Middlesbrough but manager Sean Dyche told the Burnley Express, based on the performance in that game: "I can assure you there will be wins coming."

Meanwhile, over at Derby, their assistant manager Paul Simpson said his team would keep pushing for second place. Of course they will but Simpson told the Derby Telegraph: "I would still be very surprised if Burnley threw second place away because they have it in their hands.

"They have tough fixtures, as we all have. Whether they are starting to get a bit twitchy, we don't really know, but our focus is on us. We still have to do our job properly.

"The one thing we have said is that if Burnley are going to slip up, we've got to make sure we have done our job properly to be the ones to capitalise. It's a long shot but we will keep going."

It is a long shot but Derby are all but assured a play-off place. Another two points will make that mathematically certain but I'll be very surprised if they don't make it as I will if either QPR or Wigan drop out.

But that sixth place is becoming an incredible fight. Reading's point in that draw against Leicester has taken them back into the top six, but only on goal difference ahead of Brighton and Ipswich and then with no more than a two point lead over Bournemouth.

Is the last play-off place going to go to one of those teams? I hope so given the next in the table is Blackburn who are a further two points behind Bournemouth but , worryingly, in a good run of form right now.

Having lost against us they were booed off after being beaten again three days later at home to Bournemouth, but that's their last defeat. That's eight games without defeat but all four of their remaining games are against teams with something to play for.

One is Wigan, who are in the top six, but the other three are all fighting down at the bottom of the league. Blackburn still have away games at Birmingham and Charlton whilst having Yeovil to visit Ewood.

I've reported for a few weeks that I thought the three relegated clubs would come from the bottom four but I'm not so sure of that now.

I think it will be very difficult for either of Yeovil and Barnsley, the bottom two, to get out of it. Millwall remain in the bottom three but moved a point closer with a home draw against Watford but Charlton, just above the drop zone, lost at Brighton.

However, Charlton are now just one point behind Blackpool and a further point behind Birmingham and Doncaster who are getting dragged into things. There are going to be two big scraps at Bloomfield Road and the Keepmoat on Friday as two of those teams, Blackpool and Doncaster, face us and Derby.

They used to say things got sorted out at Easter, more so when it falls so late in the season. I'm sure some issues will have been sorted by the end of Tuesday next week but I suspect there will be some big games to come for some teams on the last two weekends.

The results and stats from the weekend games are below with the leading goalscorers, each club's disciplinary record, the highest and lowest attendances and this week's fixtures including tonight's big relegation battle between Charlton and Barnsley at The Valley.