The race for promotion to the Premier League takes centre stage again this weekend as the top eight jostle for position.
Bournemouth could go top of the table on goal difference this evening if they can get all three points at Fulham.
Tomorrow then sees Boro, Derby, Watford, Norwich, Brentford, Ipswich and Wolves all kick-off at 3pm, as the season approaches the grand finale.
But what are all of the top eight saying about the promotion race? We take a look.
Kike , Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford celebrate
1st - Boro (66 points) Tomorrow: Nottingham Forest (a)
Aitor Karanka:
“The next four games are massive for us,” Karanka said.
“But if you see the fixtures everybody has difficult fixtures, everybody has to play the teams at the top of the table, so we have to think about ourselves and the Nottingham game.
“After that we have one week to prepare for the other three games.
“We can win three games in a row (Forest, Ipswich and Derby) and arrive at Bournemouth top of the table with five or six points ahead of third position, or we could lose those three games and we can be two points off the play-off position.
“The players know my philosophy and mentality and we don’t win anything thinking about the games against Ipswich, Derby and Bournemouth now.”
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Derby County's Darren Bent
2nd Derby County (65 points). Tomorrow: Birmingham (h)
Steve McClaren
“We put ourselves in a great position with the two home wins but we have lost two opportunities to go on from that,” he told the Derby Telegraph.
“Hopefully, we will get in a position to do it again – and do it.
“If we perform and play like we did at Brighton, eight times out of 10 we will win. We’ll probably draw one and lose one.
“From the first day we came in, we wanted to play a certain style of football. We played that way at Brighton and that will win us matches.”
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Watford's Miguel Layun and Adlene Guedioura celebrate at the end of the match
3rd Watford (65 pts). Tomorrow (Wolves a)
Slavisa Jokanovic
“We have improved and we have done a good job to be where we are. Now, in this last part of the Championship, we don’t have any space to make mistakes,” he told the Watford Observer.
“Now is the moment to show the right mentality, for the players to believe in themselves and for everyone to push the boat in the same direction.
“In front of us are two months where we need to show how strong we can be. We must be stronger than we were in the past.
“If people believe that the teams at the top of the table are stronger than Watford then that is wrong.
“But if my team believe they are better than the tenth place team then we are wrong as well. So be careful and think about the small details."
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Alex Pritchard
4th Bournemouth (63 points). Tonight: Fulham (a)
Eddie Howe:
“When you consider what is at stake for us and all the other teams fighting for those positions, going top at this stage would be nice but it wouldn’t mean anything more than that,” he told the Bournemouth Echo.
“The bigger picture for us is that with so few games to go, you don’t want to be left with any regrets and it is a case of trying to do everything you can to pick up points.
“It is almost like the league starts again because it is so tight and we have to try to get consecutive wins because they are so important at this stage.
“You are aware of the table but I don’t look at the fixtures and see what other teams are doing. It is all about our fixtures and making sure we try to maximise our performance and only affect what we can control.”
5th Norwich (62 points). Tomorrow: Millwall (a)
Alex Neil:
“You have to be able to mix your game up. You come across so many different teams in terms of the way they play, you have to be able to play when it’s on and mix it up and be physical when you play against certain teams.,” Neil told HITC.
“You have to have a good variety of players and players that can adapt to different games. Longevity as well, because you play a lot of games in a short space of time. I think we have played six now in two weeks, which is a lot of games.
“We have got players that have been there and done it before. Having been there doesn’t necessarily mean you will do it again.
“I always say that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, it’s about what you do now. We have to make sure that we keep our standards as high as we can and go on to have a good end to the season.”
Action Images Alex Pritchard
6th Brentford (61 points). Tomorrow: Ipswich (a)
Mark Warburton
The average over the last five years for getting sixth spot has been 72 points. It has been as high and 75 and as low as 67. The players are aware of the statistics.,” he told London Evening Standard.
“There is no need to motivate this group of players. They deserve to be there — now go and finish the job.
“Ipswich are an experienced team and have good quality. We have gone to places like Cardiff and Leeds and done well, so we are looking forward to the challenge.”
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Ipswich's Kevin Bru celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Daryl Murphy
7th Ipswich (60 points) Tomorrow: Brentford (h)
Mick McCarthy
“The top two remains our aim. If we don’t make it, then we’ll aim for the play-offs,” McCarthy told the club’s website.
“The Championship is a bonkers league. We know that. If I was a betting man, and I’m not - and I can’t bet on football anyway - I certainly wouldn’t be wasting my money on trying to predict results and what’s going to happen in this league.
“It’s relentless and there will be no let up between now and the end of the season.
“I have no doubts that automatic promotion and the play-off places will be going down to the last game of the season because there are some good teams up there. We’re in the mix and that’s great.”
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Wolverhampton Wanderers Danny Bath (L) and Bakary Sako applaud their fans
8th Wolves (57 points). Tomorrow: Watford (h)
Kenny Jackett:
“At certain stages of the season – and we’re at one of those now, when there’s not so many points to play for – who you play, the sides above you, becomes more important,” he told the Express and Star.
“It’s important to get points against the sides around you, and also psychologically you can pull teams back.
“Playing sides above has more of a direct impact than in the first 12 games when you have 100 points to play for. You can see the contrast in people’s fortunes.
“One team’s gain is another one’s loss. In our case, it’s the sides above us we’re looking to claw them back.
“But you can’t lose sight of the fact Norwich lost at home to Wigan on Wednesday and you wouldn’t have called that - one result can change things.”
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