[lewisant]

Mowbray's teams will play into this WBA team's hands in my opinion. But the game is going to be tough, may be a "you score 3 we score 4" kind of game.

Then obviously Fulham is huge and they will need to win so again that plays into our hands. We just got to not do anything stupid like Bartley's ridiculous back passes or Johnstone's performance v Hull.

[liverbaggie]

Perhaps Brentford will drop points,it almost happened in their last match.
Don't assume that they will win all remaining games,as long as we keep picking up points and after the next match only 3 left

[baggie38]

Perhaps Brentford will drop points,it almost happened in their last match.
Don't assume that they will win all remaining games,as long as we keep picking up points and after the next match only 3 left

I think and hope they will. They had to give everything to claw back against Charlton and they are relying on the same front 3 forwards every game and have done since the restart. Derby and Preston are tricky games for them. If they fail to bear Derby and we beat Blackburn we will only need one more win after that if my maths servers me right with Fulham Huddersfield and QPR to come

[zippyandbungle]

I think and hope they will. They had to give everything to claw back against Charlton and they are relying on the same front 3 forwards every game and have done since the restart. Derby and Preston are tricky games for them. If they fail to bear Derby and we beat Blackburn we will only need one more win after that if my maths servers me right with Fulham Huddersfield and QPR to come

They will drop points
They haven’t relied on the same 3
Benrahma , dasilva,Watkins,mbeuemo

[baggie38]

They will drop points
They haven’t relied on the same 3
Benrahma , dasilva,Watkins,mbeuemo

If you also think they will drop points how many more points do you think we will need?

Lets hope the manager award curse hits Brentford. Their gaffer has just won the award. Anything except a Brentford win is brilliant for us this weekend. Means we go from needing 8 points to 5 points with 4 games remaining. Come on Derby!

[Standaman]

The situation is entirely in our own hands two wins two draws does it. As soon as Brentford don't win that becomes two wins.

If you are looking for a rooting guide for the weekend fixtures our best set of results are:

Fulham to beat Cardiff*
Derby to beat Brentford
Swansea to beat Leeds
Preston to beat Forest
Hull to beat Millwall
Stoke to lose to Birmingham*
A positive result from Barnsley v Wigan and Huddersfield v Luton

*Keeps the play-off and relegation battles open therefore giving other teams that play Leeds/Brentford an incentive to take points from those fixtures.

But two wins two draws and the rest can do what they want we will be promoted.

[baggie38]

I still don't understand why some people are so adamant that Brentford will drop points. They've got Derby who are suffering with suspensions and injuries a Preston side who are very hit or miss at home then two games against sides who are really struggling anyway

[TheJacko2000]

I still don't understand why some people are so adamant that Brentford will drop points. They've got Derby who are suffering with suspensions and injuries a Preston side who are very hit or miss at home then two games against sides who are really struggling anyway

Because it's very unusual for a team to win 10 matches in succession especially in this division.

[johnny Cash]

Because it's very unusual for a team to win 10 matches in succession especially in this division.

Unusual set of playing conditions too though isn't it.

I'd be willing to bet the top 3 in the division have never all won there last 7 remaining games, nor has it ever even looked like it was likely happen. However at present it looks like it just may.

I find it hard to believe behind closed doors isn't playing a big part in that since none of us are particularly stellar, but it does make it hard to rely on what would normally be true in under the usual circumstances.

[baggie38]

Derby Is the best chance we have of Brentford drop pin g points now I've read two things


Derby are unbeaten at home since August
And Brentford may have the managers curse from the award (clutching straws I know)

You know what that means?
Brentford win. A draw and a loss for Brentford means the exact same for us it means we only need two more wins. I'll be watching it with everything crossed.

[elmo_in_swansea]

Because it's very unusual for a team to win 10 matches in succession especially in this division.

The Vile managed it last year so it can be done

[Aussie Baggie]

Brentford can win every game as far as I’m concerned and that’s how Bilic and the players must think too. That means we need to keep winning too, to ensure that no matter what Brentford do we’ll still finish top two. That’s the mindset we all must have.

[beechyboy90]

Derby need to win or there season is over or as good as. Preston also need to win or they are as good as out of it to. Winning this weekend is a huge step for us regardless of other results

[baggie38]

Derby need to win or there season is over or as good as. Preston also need to win or they are as good as out of it to. Winning this weekend is a huge step for us regardless of other results

You would certainly hope so and at some point it must get demoralising closing the gap down to 2 and having it extended to 5 again as has been happening the last couple of weeks or so.

[baggie38]

Must admit I have to laugh at these Fulham fans on social media. They've beat Cardiff which puts them 4 points behind us with 9 to play for. They basically need us to lose to Blackburn they beat us on Tuesday to go a point behind then hope we lose to Huddersfield next week and they beat whoever they've got next week. Not being funny but I think that Cardiff win is getting to their head. It's still a three horse race for me.

[costa blanca baggie]

Must admit I have to laugh at these Fulham fans on social media. They've beat Cardiff which puts them 4 points behind us with 9 to play for. They basically need us to lose to Blackburn they beat us on Tuesday to go a point behind then hope we lose to Huddersfield next week and they beat whoever they've got next week. Not being funny but I think that Cardiff win is getting to their head. It's still a three horse race for me.

As long as it’s mathematically possible, it’s possible. It’s what keeps the dream alive. It could happen yet.

[alex1]

Must admit I have to laugh at these Fulham fans on social media. They've beat Cardiff which puts them 4 points behind us with 9 to play for. They basically need us to lose to Blackburn they beat us on Tuesday to go a point behind then hope we lose to Huddersfield next week and they beat whoever they've got next week. Not being funny but I think that Cardiff win is getting to their head. It's still a three horse race for me.

Hope you are right, but they looked strong in all departments today. Their defence is very strong, although the ref was a bit soft in allowing them some extra licence.   
We might of course need to beat them again, if we missed out on automatic.   

[baggie38]

Understand that don't get me wrong but it's a very tall order none the less.

[baggie38]

Hope you are right, but they looked strong in all departments today. Their defence is very strong, although the ref was a bit soft in allowing them some extra licence.   
We might of course need to beat them again, if we missed out on automatic.

I'm not even contemplating missing out on automatic yet. We need 8 points let's start tomorrow then if Derby do us a favour then bonus

[hunsletbaggie]

Derby need to win or there season is over or as good as. Preston also need to win or they are as good as out of it to. Winning this weekend is a huge step for us regardless of other results

Blackburn need to win though or their season is over that's the worrying thing!

[baggiemart]

Hope you are right, but they looked strong in all departments today. Their defence is very strong, although the ref was a bit soft in allowing them some extra licence.   
We might of course need to beat them again, if we missed out on automatic.

I saw nothing in Fulham that can worry us based on the Cardiff game.  The 1st 20 minutes they were all over the place.

If we beat Blackburn today and draw with Fulham they are out of it.

[liverbaggie]

Yes but we might be out of it if we just get 4 points from next 2 matches.
It’s win win for us all the way to the end

[alex1]

I saw nothing in Fulham that can worry us based on the Cardiff game.  The 1st 20 minutes they were all over the place.

If we beat Blackburn today and draw with Fulham they are out of it.

But they are not out of the Play Offs. If we fail to get automatic, we will probably have to beat Fulham in the Play Offs.

[baggie38]

So now we need something against Fulham which I'm not holding out for.

[ttree30]

How many points will be needed to finish in the top 2?

Of course the points distribution is different every season, but history might give us some clues. In the past 15 years, the lowest is 79 and the highest 93. The average is around 87.

If we carry on at our current average we will reach 88. Just about enough, but only just.

If 87 is the minimum target, 24 points from 13 games is far from a formality and every three point winning game is absolutely vital. That’s why dropping two points today is really painful. If we won only 6, we could only afford to lose 1 game and would have to draw all the others to get there. But if we win 7 we can afford to lose 3, or if we win 8 we can lose 5.

A nice little run of three or four wins in a row could make a huge difference but I still think there’s a very long way to go.

This was the position when I started this thread way back in February. And it’s now looking as if that 88 point target is very real - and would be “just about enough, but only just.”