Sam, Ipswich fan: Looking at your image I see three hard working managers who were not good enough to make it in the Premier League [previously]. I then look at the teams in the mix for promotion and they are full of players who are no longer good enough for the Premier League, or in some cases never were, plus some exciting youngsters. If I go back 12 months I could make exactly the same observations [about the three promoted sides]. Einstein had a famous expression about doing the same thing but expecting a different result. The only way any of the teams looking to go up will survive is by massive investment, like Nottingham Forest did.

Only six teams have finished with more than 100 points in a 46-game Championship season.

The last to do it was Burnley in 2023, when Vincent Kompany's side clinched the title with 101 points.

There is no chance that the Clarets' current vintage could repeat that.

And neither of this season's top two - Leeds and Burnley - will get close to Reading's all time-record of 106 points.

The Royals won 31 of their 46 games under Steve Coppell, losing just two, on their way to the 2005-06 Championship title, finishing with a whopping +67 goal difference.

Highest points tallies in Championship history:

• 106 - Reading (2005-06)
• 105 - Sunderland (1998-99)
• 102 - Leicester (2013-14), Newcastle (2009-10)
• 101 - Burnley (2022-23), Fulham (2000-01) 99 - Wolves (2017-18), Chelsea (1988-89), Man City (2001-02)

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United

Here are Sheffield United's last three games of the regular Championship season.

The question is, will they have more matches to come in the play-offs, or can Chris Wilder's side sneak into the top two to earn automatic promotion?:

• 21 Apr: Burnley (a)
• 25 Apr: Stoke (a)
• 03 May: Blackburn (h)

Here are the three remaining fixtures for both Leeds United and Burnley:

Leeds

• 21 Apr: Stoke (h)
• 28 Apr: Bristol City (h)
• 03 May: Plymouth (a)

Burnley

• 21 Apr: Sheff Utd (h)
• 26 Apr: QPR (a)
• 03 May: Millwall (h)

Which of the two teams has the better chance of finishing on 100 points?

• Thumbs up for Leeds
• Thumbs down for Burnley

Believe it or not, but no side has ever finished a season with exactly 100 points in the second-tier of English football - whether that is over a 46-game campaign or otherwise.

Sides have finished just under and just above, but never hit the 100 mark on the button...and this season we could have not one but two sides achieve that feat.

The top two are certainly showing signs that they are ready to give the Premier League a better bash this time around.

Both leaders Leeds and second-placed Burnley are locked on 91 points with three games of the season remaining, meaning they will both end on 100 points if they win their remaining fixtures.

The reason we ask this question is because it looks likely that all three sides that won promotion from the Championship last season - champions Leicester City, runners-up Ipswich Town and play-off winners Southampton - will be relegated from the Premier League.

It will be the second successive season that has happened - after Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United were relegated in 2023-24.

To put that into context, the only previous time in the Premier League era that all three promoted sides were relegated back down to the Championship, before 2023-24, was the 1997-98 season, when Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Crystal Palace went down.

Is this now a trend that we can expect to continue? Or could the current Championship crop buck that trend?

We would love to hear your views on the Championship promotion battle.

Will the top two - Leeds United and Burnley - seal the deal today?

Or can Sheffield United beat the Clarets to keep their own dreams of automatic promotion alive?

Also, without wanting to put too much of a downer on this, all three teams have had a recent experience of the Premier League. They all know how tough it can be.

The question is: are they better equipped to survive, should they win promotion again this season?

Send in your thoughts via:

• X using #bbcfootball
• WhatsApp on 03301231826
• Or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

Please remember to include your name and which team you support on any messages, thank you.

EFL

Let's take a change in tack, and switch our focus to today's Championship games and the race for promotion to the Premier League.

After an exciting round of games on Friday, the Championship is back again with a full set of fixtures later today.

With only three games of the regular season remaining, the race for automatic promotion from the Championship has been closely contested all season with Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United swapping places in the top three for much of the campaign.

But three defeats in succession for the Blades has opened up a five-point gap between themselves and the top two.

If Leeds beat Stoke City (15:00 BST) and Burnley defeat Sheffield United (17:30 BST), both will secure a top-two finish and promotion to the Premier League today.

Image source, Getty Images

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Chelsea have guaranteed they will finish above 15th in the Premier League which automatically triggers an obligation to buy winger Jadon Sancho.

The Blues would pay between £20m and £25m to Manchester United for the on loan attacker.

However, they have a £5m clause to get out of the deal and senior officials have privately refused to rule out using it to get out of signing Sancho permanently.

Manager Enzo Maresca has previously explained a decision will be made at the end of the season.

Image source, Getty Images

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy is seeking talks with Leicester over his future and the direction of the club following relegation.

Leicester will target an immediate return to the top flight but is Van Nistelrooy the right man to lead them back?

“No, I don't think so and I'm sad saying that because he seems like a really decent bloke," said Lynn Wyeth, co-chair of the Foxes Trust.

"He seems like a really decent guy off the pitch but I've not seen anything footballing-wise that gives me any confidence, with his tactics, with his formations, with his adapting play, with his man management.

"I don't see anything that fills me with any confidence whatsoever and the results speak for themselves.”

Image source, Getty Images

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Leicester failed to learn their lessons from relegation two years ago, according to supporters' group the Foxes Trust.

The club were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday after the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool left them 18 points adrift of safety with five games left.

Leicester were also relegated in 2023, just two years after winning the FA Cup and seven years following their Premier League title triumph.

"We were obviously resigned to it. I don't think anybody was under any illusion the great escape had been on for quite some time," said Foxes Trust co-chair Lynn Wyeth.

"People are angrier this time because it doesn't feel like we've learned from our mistakes from last time. I think it's the over-arching feeling of the club not being managed very well at the moment.

"It's not just about 'well we weren't good enough'. The three teams that went up weren't good enough, we knew it was going to be a hard season but it was how we came down.

"It was the capitulation on the pitch. It was the lack of fight and then it's what a lot of fans see as mismanagement in so many areas of the club."

Leicester City

While reports suggest Ruud van Nistelrooy is a personable character, he has fallen out with several senior players at Leicester this campaign.

Midfielder Harry Winks and defender Jannik Vestegaard have been excluded from selection consideration amid a row about the distance they commute to the club. Van Nistelrooy wanted both to spend one night a week at the training ground; both refused.

He has also refused to play on-loan forward Odsonne Edouard (pictured), who has not featured for Leicester since 10 November.

Image source, Getty Images

Stephen Warnock
Former Aston Villa and Liverpool defender on BBC Football Daily

On van Nistelrooy's demeanour following the defeat to Liverpool: "At the final whistle, he’s all smiles. I’m thinking you have just been relegated as a manager, and the first thing you want to do is go over to [Cody] Gakpo, Arne Slot and [Virgil] van Dijk smiling and laughing.

"If I’m a Leicester fan or player, I’m thinking, hold on, we have just been relegated, are you not bothered in the slightest that we have just been relegated? It was a strange reaction to me."