Premier League: 8 Glaring Questions From This Season So Far

6. Who's Getting Promoted From The Championship This Year?

Apart from 1st place, there is one automatic place still theoretically possible to be up for grabs and it seems to be 4 teams battling it out for that coveted place in the Premier League. Leicester are doing a great job maintaining their position in first and it is hard to see them relinquishing the 10 points between them and 3rd in the last 15 games, especially with their form this season. They seem to be proving critics wrong with every game that passes. David Nugent and Jamie Vardy have contributed 28 goals between them and their consistent defensive players such as Paul Konchesky and Wes Morgan mean that without a catastrophic injury crisis they should be there or there about at the end of the season. The other automatic promotion position is being contested by 4 teams. Burnley, Derby, QPR and Nottingham Forest. Each team has good credentials to go up but only 1 can. So who will it be? Burnley- Currently sitting pretty in 2nd with 60 points from 31 games. They have, arguably, the best strike partnership in the league with Sam Vokes and Danny Ings providing 40 goals for the team between them. They are a very hard team to beat and the only thing I can envisage stopping them progressing further this year is the amount of draws they currently play out. If they can survive their final matches (which include games against 4 of the top 6) then you never know. Derby- Full of promise. Steve McClaren has done a tremendous job getting the rams to 3rd in the table with what he has available. Striker Chris Martin has led the line well with 17 goals this season, but it is their young midfielder Will Hughes who has been catching the eyes of many. 18 years old, 4 goals and as long as he is developed properly, he could turn out to be quite a player. My pick to go up with Leicester. QPR- Hard to see how a goal shy team of heavily paid footballers will still be able to fight for promotion without their top goalscorer. Charlie Austin had been very good this season, scoring the only goal in multiple 1-0 wins for Rangers. But with his injury, and no obvious return date, Redknapp will find it very hard to find the consistence and goals needed to get out of this league. Nottingham Forest- Unbeaten in the last 10 games but something still seems to be missing from Billy Davies' side. Martin Paterson seems a good prospect but it is hard to see them achieving 2nd by May. Their most realistic aim would be to get into the play-offs and see where they can go from there.