The number of points Sheffield Wednesday will need to be beat Ipswich Town to promotion

Wednesday remain in top spot given their superior goal difference, with the Owls boasting the best defensive record in the division.

More importantly, Darren Moore’s side have a five-point gap to Ipswich Town in third, despite Kieran McKenna’s men securing a 3-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday evening. They have also played two games more than the Owls.

Wednesday missed out on promotion last season after they were beaten by Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals but Moore’s side are in a strong position to secure a return to the Championship this time around.

The Owls have 74 points from 33 games, to give them a points per game ratio of 2.24. If they maintain that return until the end of the season, they will finish the campaign on over 100 points. That total would be more than enough to clinch automatic promotion.

In the last five completed third tier campaigns, the maximum points required to secure an automatic spot has been 90, which happened last season as Rotherham United pipped MK Dons to second place.

The lowest tally has been 81 while the average points needed over the last five seasons has been 86. It is likely the Owls will need around that number again but with two games in hand and a five-point cushion to Ipswich they are in a healthy position.

To work out the possible points tally required – rather than looking at the total gathered by the second-placed side in each respective season, we have added one more point to the final tally of the team finishing third, giving a better indication of the minimum points required in each of the last five campaigns.

For example, Peterborough United were promoted with 87 points in 2021 while third-placed Blackpool ended the season with 80, meaning 81 points was enough to secure automatic promotion. Data from the 2019-20 season has not been included due to the League One campaign being cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.