The Championship is all about playing at the top and at the bottom, with two big matches live on Sky on Tuesday night.
Relegation-threatened Portsmouth host promotion-chasing Ipswich Town, while in-form Southampton host Blackburn at St Mary’s.
Important matches are also being held live in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, with more to come as we approach the final stages of the 2025/26 season.
Portsmouth vs Ipswich
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Norwich City vs Ipswich Town Sky Bet Championship match highlights
It’s been a while since this happened. Quite literally, in fact. Portsmouth were originally scheduled to host Ipswich in the first week of January, but this match was postponed twice. The first match was played on a frozen pitch, and then again in early March on a flooded pitch.
A check of the forecast shows that Tuesday night will be mild for the south coast with minimal chance of precipitation. it’s okay.
And the game comes at a good time for Portsmouth. They were in dismal form heading into the international break but picked up five points from their next three games, including Saturday’s dramatic 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. Conor Chaplin scored with the last kick of the match, saving Pompey from dropping into the bottom three.
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth
Tuesday, April 14th 7:30pm
Kickoff at 8pm
After the game, Portsmouth manager John Mousinho said with some disbelief: “We were really lucky. To be honest, we were lucky, but that’s something we haven’t had this season.” That tends to happen when you’re at rock bottom.
Mousinho will be hoping there is still some money left for Ipswich. The Tractor Boys secured a comfortable win over rivals Norwich at the weekend and now have full control of second place in the standings. If they win here, they will be five points behind third-placed Millwall.
A trip to Fratton Park is no longer as difficult as it once was. Portsmouth have only won once at home this year, but have only picked up one point from their last four home games.
But they are motivated by the knowledge that a win would put them four points above the standings, and it will feel like a rift with four games left.
Southampton vs Blackburn
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Southampton and Derby County
Portsmouth v Ipswich has been postponed twice in three months, while Southampton v Blackburn is coming from the future.
It was originally scheduled for the penultimate game of the season on the last weekend of April, but was brought forward as Saints instead traveled to Wembley to face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final.
Tonda Eckert wouldn’t care. The Saints are currently on the march and momentum is at its best at this stage of the season. Southampton moved up to fifth place in the table with Saturday’s come-from-behind win against Derby, and a win against Rovers on Tuesday night would see them move into the league for a sixth consecutive season. It was a spell of very incredible form.
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers
Tuesday, April 14th 7:30pm
Kickoff at 8pm
“It was a great performance. I think it was our best performance all week,” Eckert said after fighting back to beat the Rams. Some will be praising them, given that the week started with a win against Arsenal, followed by a 5-1 win over Wrexham.
Blackburn will know they are up against it. Consecutive draws have stalled their chances of escaping the relegation zone.
We’re still four points behind, but if we don’t get anything done at Southampton, you’ll see that all the teams below have games in hand.
The next game is on Friday night against leaders Coventry. Blackburn can’t afford to think of St Mary’s as a free hit as things don’t take long for things to change quickly in this league.
league 1
Live on Sky: Bolton vs Stevenage, Huddersfield vs Cardy Freyton, Orient vs Mansfield, Port Vale vs Barnsley, Wigan vs Rotherham.
Bolton appear destined to reach the play-offs in League One and will be keen to build on their momentum towards getting there. They host a Stevenage side who sit in sixth place and a win would give them a five-point lead over their chasers in the play-off race.
Cardiff City could take another step towards the inevitable promotion by taking on Huddersfield, who still have hopes of making the play-offs.
Elsewhere, Leyton Orient will be hoping to move out of the relegation zone when they host Mansfield, Port Vale will host Barnsley in a game that will see them move closer to the relegation zone, and Rotherham’s relegation fate could be sealed at Wigan. If they lose, they lose.
league 2
All live on Sky: Barrow vs Oldham, Cheltenham vs Gillingham, Chesterfield vs Grimsby, Colchester vs Accrington.
Nothing can be confirmed in League Two on Tuesday night, but relegation-threatened Barrow will be looking to move closer to safety when they host play-off favorites Oldham.
Meanwhile, Chesterfield vs. Grimsby is a big game in the top seven reshuffle. They are in 7th-8th place, with just one point separating them across the playoff line.
