Sheffield Wednesday man with Leeds United links offers 'amazing' promotion verdict amid Ipswich Town hope

Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan hopes to see Ipswich Town promoted to the Premier League - an outcome that would almost certainly mean former club Leeds United missing out.

Leeds and Ipswich look set to go head-to-head for the second automatic promotion place, following Leicester City’s commanding 5-0 thumping of Southampton on Tuesday evening. Enzo Maresca’s side need just three points to secure a top-two finish, with that victory virtually condemning the Saints to a play-off place due to vastly inferior goal difference.

All involved would admit that Ipswich have been the surprise package, keeping pace with former Premier League sides despite only getting promoted from League One last season. They pipped Wednesday, who came up via the play-offs, to an automatic place during that campaign and Owls captain Bannan hopes to see the Tractor Boys achieve a historic double promotion.

“I would like to see Ipswich go up, obviously with them coming up through League One last season, I think they’ve been unbelievable,” Bannan told talkSPORT. “The three teams that are going for it, no matter who goes up, they all probably deserve it in their own way. It’s amazing for us to watch.”

Focus among the Wednesday squad  is further down the table for the remaining fortnight, with Danny Rohl’s side in serious danger of an instant return to League One. Victory at Blackburn Rovers pulled them out of the bottom three but they are just a point clear of Birmingham City with two games remaining, with Huddersfield Town in 23rd and already-relegated Rotherham propping up rest.

Leeds do currently occupy the second automatic promotion place after beating Middlesbrough 4-3 on Monday. Crysencio Summerville was the star man at the Riverside Stadium, his brilliant brace bookending efforts from Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Gnonto to put the Whites back in second and a point clear of Ipswich.

That gap can be extended to four points if Daniel Farke’s side win at Queens Park Rangers on Friday. Ipswich will have two games in hand by that point but face tricky away trips to Hull City and Coventry with all the pressure on. The promotion race will likely go right to the final day, with Leeds at home to Southampton and Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys hosting Huddersfield at Portman Road.

Promotion permutations

Leeds know they will likely need to win both of their remaining games in order to achieve automatic promotion, but there is a slight possibility that their fate could already be secured before Southampton come to Elland Road. Victory at QPR, coupled with consecutive defeats for Ipswich at Hull and Coventry, would put Leeds up. Even if McKenna’s men draw one and lose one, the Whites’ vastly superior goal difference would all but guarantee promotion.

Also based on the assumption that Leeds win at Loftus Road, anything but two wins for Ipswich would leave in the hands of Farke’s side going into the final-day visit of Southampton. There is also the possibility that Leicester fall out of the top two but that would require them to drop points in both of their final games.