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Writer's pictureEllie Byrne

Only Two Points Separate The Championship's Top Five

With 12 rounds played and 10 more to go, there isn't yet a clear favourite in the Women's Championship title fight.


Birmingham City sit atop the Championship table on 23 points, with Southampton sitting in fifth on 21 points. Charlton Athletic are second, Sunderland third and Crystal Palace fourth.



Birmingham City have turned their form around since the start of the season, with six wins in their last six Championship games, lifting them to the top of the table over the winter break.


Birmingham City are having a promising season, with the Blues also making it through to the fifth round of the Adobe Women's FA Cup following a 3-1 extra-time win over Burnley.


With strong players such as Libby Smith, Charlie Devlin and Lily Agg to guide them, can the current league leaders keep up their promising form in order to secure promotion to the WSL?



Charlton Athletic are second in the league table after 12 games, on level points with Birmingham City, only sitting behind the leaders on goal difference.


Charlton are unbeaten in their last 9 league games, with 6 wins and 3 draws. The Addick's only loss of the season came in a 3-2 defeat to Watford early in the season.


With Charlton Athletic being more consistent than leaders Birmingham City, who have 3 losses compared to Charlton's 1, it could lead to the Addicks lifting the Championship trophy over the Blues should they keep up their promising results.


Sunderland are only a point behind Birmingham and Charlton, sitting third in the table. Their form has been inconsistent recently, with two wins, two losses and a draw in their last five league matches. If they continue to struggle with maintaining their form, this could hinder Sunderland's hopes of promotion to the top-flight.


Sunderland are the only team in the Championship's top 5 to be knocked out of the FA cup. This could be seen as an advantage, as the Lasses can focus on their title charge in the league. However, this could also be a disadvantage for Sunderland as they have already had a long winter break without competitive football, so more games could have provided more chances for improvement.



Crystal Palace and Southampton are fourth and fifth respectively, with both sides having 21 points. Palace have a better goal difference than Southampton, with the Eagles on 20 GD and the Saints on 6.


Southampton and Crystal Palace have made both it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, as have title-rivals Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic, meaning a fairly even fight is on the way.


Southampton's form has been inconsistent in recent matches, with three losses and two wins, including defeats to Reading and Durham, who are lower in the Championship table. They will struggle to keep up with the pace of the four other clubs unless this varying form can be resolved.


Crystal Palace's Elise Hughes is currently leading the way as the Championship's top goal-scorer, with 12 goals in 11 games, and a 67% goal conversion rate. Could she be the key to leading Palace to the top?



Blackburn Rovers are currently in 7th place on 15 points. However, the Rovers have two games in hand over most of the teams at the top of the table. The postponed games were against Lewes and Reading, who are struggling near the relegation zone, so the Rovers should be able to take the maximum six points. If they are able to win both games, there is no reason they shouldn't be able to fight with the top 5 for promotion to the WSL.


Realistically, more consistency is needed if Blackburn are to fight for the title, but the winter break will have allowed the team to refresh, reset and come back stronger.



With six different clubs in possible contention for the crown, and five clubs within two points of the top, this season's Championship title race is turning out to be an exciting and unpredictable one.


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