A guide to the four-way Championship relegation battle

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Derby County – 24th, 25 points, 39 games played

Why they will stay up

Wayne Rooney and co. have managed to transcend expectations and give themselves hope all season despite the clusterf*ck that has been happening off the pitch. Around the New Year, hope turned to expectation and while it has soured since with a lack of momentum stalling Derby’s march to safety, it feels like there is one more miracle in this talented and battle-hardened group of players and management.

And while games against Fulham and QPR might offer little, the other five fixtures are against sides with almost certainly only pride to play for. A far superior goal difference could prove to be a crucial half -point difference come the first weekend in May.

Why they will go down

Points accrued are not points on the board. Derby are in the unenviable position of sitting rock bottom while the three other sides in the battle have picked up some level of form in recent weeks before the international break.

Derby also have no six-pointers left to play in this campaign, with none of the other three relegation battlers – Peterborough, Barnsley and Reading – left to play in the remaining weeks of this campaign. It is not in Derby’s hands to stay up, and it is still out of their own control as to whether the club continues to