What Wrexham, Hull and Derby need in Championship top six race

Three Championship teams will contest a final-day shootout for the last playoff place in the fight to reach the Premier League.

Wrexham, Hull City, and Derby County are all separated by just a point after 45 matches, with the race for sixth spot going down to the wire.

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Phil Parkinson‘s Red Dragons missed the chance to put themselves on the brink of the playoffs following a 3-1 defeat to Coventry City.

Wrexham could have eliminated Derby from contention with a victory over the champions, but the Rams’ dreams still remain alive.

Championship standings for top-six race

Final fixtures

• Derby County vs Sheffield United
• Hull City vs Norwich City
• Wrexham vs Middlesbrough

What do Wrexham need to finish sixth?

The Welsh outfit are potentially within four games of reaching the Premier League following a fairytale rise from the National League.

Wrexham welcome Middlesbrough to the Racecourse on Saturday, who may still hold an outside chance of automatic promotion.

However, Parkinson’s men will be guaranteed to finish sixth if they better Hull City’s result and better or match Derby’s result.

If Wrexham and Hull both win, then the playoff place will come down to goal difference, which is just one strike in the Dragons’ favour.

If the goal difference between the two teams is also level, then goals scored could swing the pendulum towards the Tigers.

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What do Hull City need to finish sixth?

Sergej Jakirović’s men suffered a blow in their top-six hopes following a 2-1 defeat to Charlton Athletic, before Wrexham also lost.

Hull will overhaul Parkinson’s side if they better their result against Boro when they host Norwich City, who are out of playoff contention.

Yet the Tigers will also need to better or match Derby’s result against Sheffield United to avoid a scenario in which they draw to move to 71 points, Wrexham lose, but a Rams win pushes them onto 72 points.

Victory for Hull against Norwich removes Derby from the equation entirely and will be enough for sixth if Wrexham draw or loses as well.

Even a win for the Dragons could still be enough for Hull, providing they overturn a one-goal deficit on goal difference.

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What do Derby need to finish sixth?

The Rams have the biggest outside chance of claiming the last playoff spot as the only team without their destiny in their hands.

Their best route to finishing sixth is by securing a win against Sheffield United and see both Wrexham and Hull fail to win.

However, Derby could still sneak into the top-six if they draw with the Blades, provided the two teams above them also lose this weekend.