Playoff contenders drop points as Hull prepare to face Ipswich Huddersfield all but relegated after draw with Birmingham Norwich and West Brom both dropped points in the battle for Championship playoff places – while Blackburn, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Birmingham will all go into the final day at risk of relegation, with Huddersfield all but down. Sheffield Wednesday’s second successive win took their survival fight to the final day and left West Brom’s position in the top six precarious. Goals from Anthony Musaba, Ike Ugbo and Josh Windass sealed a dominant victory, and, with Hull ..read more

Popular winger has died at the age of 71 James scored 10 goals in 54 appearances for Wales The former Wales winger Leighton James has died at the age of 71. James’s former clubs Burnley and Swansea – where he spent 13 years of a colourful 19-year senior career – were among those to pay tribute to a gifted player who won 54 caps for his country ..read more

West Brom consolidate playoff place with win over Rotherham Blackburn’s relegation fears increase in 5-0 defeat by Bristol City Ipswich missed the chance to climb back to the top of the Championship after being held to a goalless draw by Watford. Four days after losing to Norwich at Carrow Road, the Tractor Boys once again failed to find the net but they did extend their unbeaten home league run to 19 games. Kieran McKenna’s side did move into second place, one point above Leeds, but are separated from leaders Leicester, who have a game in hand, by goal difference. West Brom consolidated fif ..read more

Ali Al-Hamadi strikes twice late on as Ipswich go second West Brom unbeaten in six after victory over Bristol City Ipswich swept back into second place in the Championship with an emphatic 6-0 win over relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday. Doubles from Omari Hutchinson and Ali Al-Hamadi helped Ipswich leapfrog Leeds, who host Millwall on Sunday. Three first-half goals put Ipswich in complete control at Portman Road, with Cameron Burgess and Nathan Broadhead adding to Hutchinson’s 15th-minute opener. Hutchinson added a sublime fourth goal soon after half-time before substitute Al-Hamadi ..read more

Mikey Johnston nets twice as visitors earn 4-1 comeback win Rob Dickie gives Bristol City a 1-0 victory over Swansea Carlos Corberán expressed his delight as West Brom came from behind to thump Huddersfield 4-1. Marking his first return to the John Smith’s Stadium since departing as manager in 2022, Corberan oversaw a rampant display as West Brom tightened their grip on the playoffs. It was not plain sailing for the visitors, who failed to register a shot in the first half as they fell behind to Delano Burgzorg’s opener ..read more

Saints’ unbeaten run ends in 3-1 defeat at Bristol City Leicester go 14 points clear of third with win over Wednesday Leeds swept aside Swansea 4-0 to claim a seventh-consecutive Championship victory, moving above Southampton and into second spot while equalling their biggest win of the season. The hosts were left facing an uphill battle that proved well beyond them after Crysencio Summerville and the former Swansea striker Joël Piroe struck inside the opening 10 minutes ..read more

Manager who has done all kinds of jobs after a harrowing attack is thriving after leaving school with no GCSEs “Sometimes I would work 20 hours off the bat, get three or four hours’ kip, back to work,” says Luke Williams, the Swansea head coach, reflecting on the days when he would struggle to make ends meet, combining coaching kids in Hackney, east London, earning £1.50 a head, with loading lorries for British Home Stores on Highams Park industrial estate. Odd jobs such as driving minibuses – from airport and nightclub runs to ferrying construction workers to the Olympic Park site in Stratfor ..read more

Bournemouth routed their Championship opponents in a tie that was effectively over before a quarter of an hour had passed 4 min: Now Fisher comes out of his box to clear. The Swansea keeper giving it plenty of swash and buckle early doors. 3 min: A long pass down the Bournemouth left. Sinisterra chases after it. Wood does enough to shepherd the ball back to Fisher, who elegantly wedges over the still-going Sinisterra to clear ..read more

In these parts Chris Billam-Smith, a self-confessed Bournemouth fanatic, is something of a local hero. Last month he defended his WBO cruiserweight title at the Bournemouth International Centre, a venue perched on the seafront, but if this contest was played out in the ring Swansea would have been put of their misery long before the final whistle. As it happened, the referee, Darren England, had no such powers and so Bournemouth eased into the FA Cup fifth round with a bruising and comprehensive dissection of their Championship opponents. Things were ludicrously comfortable for Bournemouth, so ..read more

3-1 victory breaks 103-year-old Southampton record Norwich secure hard-fought 2-0 win over West Brom Russell Martin has warned his players that Southampton’s new unbeaten club record will not carry as much weight if the club fails to return to the Premier League. Southampton broke a 103-year-old club record by extending their unbeaten run to 21 games with a 3-1 victory at Martin’s old club Swansea, lifting them to second place in the Championship, above Ipswich on goal difference. First-half goals from Che Adams, Will Smallbone and Flynn Downes – his first for Saints coming on his 25th birt ..read more