Coventry City has significantly bolstered its position at the summit of the Championship, now holding an eight-point advantage after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Swansea. This crucial win came as several other promotion hopefuls, including Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town, and Hull City, dropped vital points in their respective fixtures.
Ephron Mason-Clark’s decisive strike just before the halftime whistle proved to be the deciding goal for the Sky Blues, marking their ninth home win of the current Championship campaign. Despite the narrow margin, Coventry managed to extend their commanding lead over the chasing pack, creating a substantial 13-point buffer.
The victory keeps Coventry firmly on track in their pursuit of Premier League football, a feat they haven’t achieved in 25 seasons. The team remains undefeated at home this season, a testament to their strong performance at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Meanwhile, promotion rivals faced setbacks. Middlesbrough’s festive period has been marred by a goalless draw against Blackburn Rovers at the Riverside Stadium. This follows their recent 2-0 defeat to Bristol City, highlighting a recent dip in form for the Teessiders under new head coach Kim Hellberg.
Further up the table, Ipswich Town and Millwall played out a scoreless draw at The Den. Ipswich, who had aspirations of applying pressure on the top two, struggled to find their attacking rhythm against a resolute Millwall defence. Hull City, aiming to climb into third place, had to twice come from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw away at bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday, who are nearing a takeover, showed resilience despite their precarious league position. Hull’s draw sees them remain fourth in the table, level on points with Ipswich but behind on goal difference, while Wednesday’s winless home run extends to 16 games.
Elsewhere, Preston North End continued their solid run of form, extending their unbeaten streak to seven matches with a 0-0 draw away at Stoke City. Both sides had opportunities to break the deadlock in a tightly contested encounter, ultimately sharing the spoils.
In other results, Watford secured back-to-back victories for the first time this season, coming from behind to defeat Leicester City 2-1. Bristol City climbed into the play-off positions with a 2-1 away win against West Bromwich Albion, thanks to first-half goals from Anis Mehmeti and Ross McCrorie.
