Ipswich Town have the ability to deal Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United impressive season-by-season blows: View | OneFootball

It has been an outstanding start to life back in the Championship for Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys were promoted from League One last season, and they have seamlessly made the step up to the second tier, spending much of the campaign so far in the automatic promotion places.

Ipswich secured their third consecutive victory with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, with goals in each half from Conor Chaplin and Omari Hutchinson sealing another three points.

Kieran McKenna's side remain second in the table, one point behind leaders Leicester City and seven points clear of third-placed Leeds United, and they are back in action when they make the trip to face Watford at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

Ipswich's excellent form is more impressive considering the pressure that has been applied to them by Leeds in recent weeks, with the Whites winning six of their last seven games.

Leeds are looking on course to reach a total of over 90 points, but that may not be enough for automatic promotion if Ipswich were to maintain their high standards.

Ipswich Town could deal Leeds United a huge blow

It was another excellent victory for Ipswich against Boro on Saturday, further underlining their automatic promotion credentials.

Boro had previously beaten Southampton and Leicester at home this season, and while Michael Carrick's side were without a number of key players due to injury, it was a controlled performance from the Tractor Boys, limiting the hosts to few chances.

Ipswich are the top scorers in the Championship this season with 43 goals, and they were a constant threat once again at the Riverside Stadium.

On the rare occasion they were threatened, goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky proved to be a safe pair of hands between the sticks, and it seems they have put the defensive issues that plagued them during November firmly behind them.

The impact of substitute Hutchinson underlined the Tractor Boys' strength in depth, and reinforcements in January will make them well-equipped to maintain their top two challenge.

While Leeds may reach a big points total this season, Ipswich have shown their strong mentality previously in an automatic promotion race, securing second spot in League One last season despite third-placed Sheffield Wednesday recording 96 points.

The Tractor Boys went unbeaten in the final 19 games of last season to seal their promotion to the Championship, and it would be no surprise to see them put together an equally relentless run in the latter stages of this campaign.

Ipswich will be tested over the festive period, with the East Anglian derby against Norwich City on Saturday before back-to-back games against Leeds and Leicester, but should they come through those fixtures unscathed, they will be in an incredibly commanding position to achieve automatic promotion.

Leeds have been excellent in recent weeks, and Daniel Farke's side will continue to push the top two, but with Ipswich's form showing no sign of declining, they may be forced to settle for a place in the play-offs.