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Nobody wins promotion from the Championship in November. But then again, no team had ever held a lead over second place quite like Coventry City with a third of the season gone.

Frank Lampard's side were seven points clear of Middlesbrough heading into a top of the table clash on Teesside with Opta giving them a staggering 90 per cent chance of promotion after 16 games. As the dust settles on Saturday's actions, though, Coventry now find themselves neck and neck with Boro on 58 points apiece.

And then there's the chasing pack. While Boro have clawed back a 10-point lead to reel Lampard's men back in after losing that crunch clash at the end of November, unfancied Hull City are now just five points further back from Coventry in third. Then sit Ipswich on 51 points and Millwall on 50 - hardly an insurmountable deficit.

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Since emerging victorious from that titanic tussle at The Riverside, Coventry are now winless in seven away matches after falling to a 2-1 defeat at QPR. And those away day blues could end up costing the Sky Blues and Lampard a spot in the Premier League.

"What we must do now is keep positive, look to the next one. We're in a difficult moment, it's clear, a difficult moment and we're top of the league," he said post-match.

"We know that gap's gone now, so it's a race from now and we have to pick ourselves up very quickly."

Boro, on the other hand, are firing on all cylinders under Kim Hellberg. They are red-hot and their 1-0 win against a rejuvenated Norwich City side makes it five successive wins: their best run of form since October 2023.

And on current form, Middlesbrough and Hellberg will fancy their chances of overhauling Lampard and Coventry, who have bludgeoned teams into submission at times this season. They are still the division's leading scorers (only Hull on 48 come anywhere close to Coventry's 63 strikes) and there's no doubt they have the firepower to blow anyone away on their day.

But while they remain imperious at home, the chasing pack will be buoyed by the frailties that present themselves when Coventry away from their safe haven of the CBS Arena. And while Boro are on the charge, the other teams in the top five will also fancy their chances of a top-two finish.

Plenty expect Ipswich to finish strong after putting memories of a poor start behind them while Hull and Millwall are also in fine shape after defying pre-season expectations.

Middlesbrough and Coventry meet again a little over two weeks. It's a fixture that will not only have major implications for both teams in the Championship promotion race but also for those laying in wait to take advantage of any slip-ups.

Pacesetters for much of the season, Lampard and Co could yet find themselves doing some chasing of their own.

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