Tuesday was 20 minutes away from being a disastrous evening for Birmingham City. With Hull City cruising three goals to the good and Barnsley one up, the gap between Blues and safety extended to five points.
Norwich City’s eventual equaliser at Oakwell could have a massive say in the relegation scrap. Not only did it reduce the gap to three points, it also dragged the Tykes right back into trouble.
From a Hull perspective, Saturday’s trip to St. Andrews has probably become an even bigger occasion. Their win at Ipswich lifted them nine points ahead of the last relegation spot – currently occupied by Blues. A win for Nigel Adkins’ men would go a long way to ensuring another season in the second tier for the Tigers. At the very least, they’ve afforded themselves breathing space.
The task at hand for Garry Monk’s team is much more plain and simple – must win.
A defeat is unthinkable and would put huge pressure on Blues going into the last eight games – with Wolves, Sheffield United and Fulham still to play.
Bolton and Reading aren’t out of the woods yet either. Both have 36 points, Sheffield Wednesday sit 18th on 38, one less than Hull.
But after their visit to the second city this weekend, Hull face back-to-back fixtures against Aston Villa and Wolves – and still have Bristol City, Cardiff City and Brentford to come.
The next four games are enormous for Blues. With Ipswich and Burton coming to St. Andrews and a trip to Bolton, it really is squeaky bum time.
This weekend’s Championship fixtures involving relegation-threatened teams
Barnsley v Millwall (1pm)
Birmingham City v Hull City
Leeds United v Sheffield Wednesday
Norwich City v Reading
Sunderland v Preston North End
Wolves v Burton Albion
Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa (5.30pm)