Championship roundup: Burnley hit four as Sheffield United beat Watford

Runaway leaders Burnley extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches with an emphatic 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Huddersfield.

Neil Warnock, who inspired the Terriers to victory over Birmingham a week ago after returning for a second spell as manager, had no answer as the hosts were 3-0 up after 31 minutes. Anass Zaroury crossed for Ashley Barnes to open the scoring, with Connor Roberts and Josh Brownhill adding further first-half goals, and substitute Michael Obafemi netting after the break. The only bad news for the hosts was a nasty-looking injury for Ian Maatsen, with the Chelsea loanee taken off on a stretcher.

Sheffield United overcame Watford 1-0 to boost their hopes of automatic promotion. An own goal in the second half by Ryan Porteous secured maximum points for the hosts, but they had to dig deep to keep Watford out and preserve their lead as the match wore on.

Daryl Dike struck an early double at The Hawthorns to force West Brom back into the play-off mix and deal a blow to Middlesbrough’s efforts to reel in the Blades. Dike found the net in the eighth minute when teed up by Jed Wallace, and two minutes later John Swift was the provider as Dike delivered a cushion for Albion. Boro struggled in the final third and now find themselves seven points off second.

Gary Rowett enjoyed a happy return to Stoke as his Millwall side boosted their play-off hopes with a 1-0 win. The former Potters manager oversaw a deserved victory, with Zian Flemming scoring his 11th league goal of the season. Stoke’s Jacob Brown had a strike ruled out for offside as their four-game unbeaten home run ended.

Sam Gallagher scored twice as Blackburn condemned QPR to a 3-1 home defeat in Gareth Ainsworth’s first match as manager.