Leeds United returned to the automatic promotion places thanks to a 2-0 win over 10-man Preston North End at Deepdale.
Patrick Bamford broke the deadlock just after the hour, 13 minutes after Ben Pearson’s sending off for two yellow cards, and added a second with 14 minutes to go to seal a victory that sees Leeds leapfrog Sheffield United, who face Birmingham on Wednesday.
Bristol City were 3-0 up within 19 minutes against fellow play-off contenders West Brom. Josh Brownhill, Andreas Weimann and Jack Hunt put Lee Johnson’s side in charge but it was a nervy finale after Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez pulled the score back to 3-2.
Derby County remain outside the top six after slipping to a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn, Joe Rothwell and Bradley Dack ending Rovers’ run of three successive defeats. Sheffield Wednesday kept their own play-off hopes alive with a resounding 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. A Marco Matias double and George Boyd’s goal leaves Wednesday four points behind sixth-placed Aston Villa. “Unfortunately games are running out but we’ve still got a bit to play for and who knows?” said the Wednesday manager, Steve Bruce.
Middlesbrough move up to seventh after ending their six-match losing streak with a 2-0 win at struggling Bolton, while Swansea were convincing 3-1 winners against Stoke, who had two players sent off.