Conor Hourihane makes promotion prediction amid Leeds United, Leicester City and Ipswich Town battle | OneFootball

Derby County midfielder Conor Hourihane believes Leeds United and Leicester City could be the teams that are automatically promoted at the end of the season, speaking on talkSPORT.

There are still four teams in the race for a top-two place.

Leeds, who have played one more game than Leicester, are currently sitting at the top of the table on goal difference and have gone unbeaten in the league in 2024, with their only defeat of the calendar year coming in the FA Cup against Chelsea.

The Foxes could easily win the title if they can turn things around and capitalise on their game in hand, but results haven't gone their way in recent times.

Ipswich Town, meanwhile, managed to record a 6-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday before the international break and will be full of confidence heading into the final set of games of the 2023/24 campaign.

They are still firmly in the mix - and Southampton can't be written off yet either.

Russell Martin's side are eight points adrift of the top three at this stage, but have two games in hand and have shown real promise this season, even going unbeaten for months before having a wobble.

Conor Hourihane's Championship automatic promotion prediction

This looks set to be an extremely exciting battle for a place in the top two - and it's difficult to call who will end up winning automatic promotion and who will have to settle for the play-offs.

When asked who would secure a top-two finish, Derby star Hourihane said: "The top four have gone storming ahead over the course of the season.

"Five, six, seven, eight games ago Leicester were flying high and it was only a matter of time until they got promoted, but all of a sudden they’ve hit a bit of a dip. Every team is going to have a dip over 46 games and over an EFL season it’s so hard to stay that consistent.

"Everyone has two losses in a row or three losses in a row but it’s how quickly you can come out of that – Leicester had two or three losses and everyone thought they would be fine but that run has turned into five or six games and the teams behind them have hit really good form and closed that gap.

"It’s been a bit of a surprise because they looked that strong and that convincing and for them to be second now is a big surprise."

Leeds United and Leicester City may have too much quality in the end

Firstly, Ipswich need to be credited for their results this term.

To challenge for back-to-back promotions is an excellent achievement and they richly deserve to be in the Premier League next season.

Managing to compete with those who were in the top flight last term, they can be proud of what they have done.

However, you have to wonder whether Leeds and Leicester's quality will shine through in the end, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall able to be game-changers.

The neutrals will be keen for Ipswich to go up, but they face a difficult task in their quest to secure an automatic promotion place, especially with Wes Burns' injury in mind.