Middlesbrough's revival has begun under new manager Tony Mowbray after two wins inside a week. First was a win against a struggling Crystal Palace side at the Riverside stadium. Middlesbrough won 2-1 after a late own goal from McCarthy. Then on Tuesday they won 2-0 over Scunthorpe away from home after goals from Kris Boyd and Scott McDonald. These two results lift Middlesbrough out of the relegation zone into 19th place.
Crystal Palace’s woes at the bottom of the table continue after a mixed week. First they lost to Middlesbrough. But in the week they got a great win at home after winning 3-2 at home. A brace from Owen Garvan helped them to the win. Watford also drew at the weekend against Nottingham Forest 1-1. These results leave Crystal Palace propping up the table and Watford in slowly slipping done the table in 13th.
Derby are on the March after two wins in a week. The first win came against the also in form Portsmouth, winning 2-0 at home, and then on Tuesday they also beat Ipswich 2-0 after a brace from Kris Commons. These two wins push Nigel Clough’s Derby up to 4th in the Table.
Bristol City and Leicester had a good week with them both moving away from the relegation zone. Bristol drew at the weekend with struggling Preston (1-1) and got a surprising 1-0 win at high-flying Swansea. Leicester won away from home 2-0 at Barnsley then in the week they drew 2-2 at home with struggling Sheffield Utd.
QPR are back on top after winning for the first time in five games after drawing five on the spin. At the weekend they managed to get back to winning ways after a 3-1 win over Reading. Despite having ten men for more than half the match after Orr got himself sent off. However they drew in the week once again, against Portsmouth after grabbing a late equaliser with Tommy Smith scoring a 91st minute penalty.
Norwich and Coventry remain in the playoff places. Norwich are 5th after a 2-2 draw with Burnley at the weekend and a 1-1 draw with Millwall on Tuesday. Coventry are in 6th place after a poor week- at the weekend they lost at home to Leeds 3-2. Then they lost again on Tuesday night against Nottingham Forest, however they do remain in the playoffs on goal difference ahead of Leeds and Ipswich.
Preston and Hull complete the relegation places. After Preston drew 1-1 away at fellow strugglers Bristol City at the weekend, in the week they had a very disappointing defeat to Barnsley when they lost 2-1. Hull City meanwhile lost at the weekend at home to a late goal from O’Connor for Scunthorpe. In the week they drew away from home at inconsistent Leeds United (2-2).
Sheffield United’s slide down the table continues. At the weekend they lost to promotion contenders Ipswich 2-1 after goals from Priskin and McAuley for Ipswich and a consolation for Sheffield Utd from Quinn. In the week they drew with Leicester after Leading 2-1 until the 92nd minute when Brian Howard converted a penalty for the Foxes.
There was a very mixed week for the Welsh clubs Cardiff and Swansea. These two sides went head to head in the Welsh derby. It was a largely boring affair with Swansea coming away 1-0 after a goal from Emnes. They both capped off a poor week with Swansea having a surprise defeat to struggling Bristol City 1-0 and Cardiff drawing 1-1 away at Reading. These results push Cardiff into second place two points behind QPR and Swansea four points behind Cardiff in third.