Leicester City secured promotion to the Premier League on Friday following a surprising 4-0 defeat for rivals Leeds United against Queens Park Rangers.
With this outcome, Leicester now leads the Championship with 94 points and two games remaining, while Leeds remains in second place with 90 points but only one match left to play.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Town in third position could potentially surpass Leeds for the second automatic promotion spot, holding 89 points with three matches still to play.
“It’s not in our hands anymore (automatic promotion), we need to be honest.
“The race is not over, if Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for (against Southampton on the final day of the season).
“As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up,” Leeds boss Daniel Farke told the BBC.
Enzo Maresca’s Leicester City secured promotion at their first attempt after being relegated from the Premier League last season.
Their remaining two matches start with an away fixture against Preston on Monday, followed by a home clash against Blackburn on May 4th.
Leeds United could potentially drop out of the top two if Ipswich Town defeat Hull on Saturday or Coventry in their rescheduled match on Tuesday.
If Ipswich Town win both matches, they will secure promotion while Leeds United will be forced to compete in the playoffs.
“Congratulations to QPR and congratulations to Leicester.
“In the first 20 minutes we didn’t do the basics and QPR used this in an effective way to be 2-0 up,” added Farke.
Leicester City, once the surprising champions of the Premier League in 2016, faced the bitter reality of relegation last season alongside Leeds United and Southampton.
Their journey back to the Premier League seemed assured back in February when they held a commanding 12-point lead at the top of the table, with a comfortable 14-point gap to third place.
Despite a shaky run of form, including six losses in their previous 11 games, Leicester bounced back on Tuesday against fellow promotion contenders Southampton, securing a dominant 5-0 victory fueled by an Issahaky Fatawu hat-trick, goals from Wilfred Ndidi, and veteran striker Jamie Vardy.
While the triumph put them on the verge of a Premier League comeback, their joy is somewhat dampened by a March charge from the Premier League for alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) over the past three seasons in the top flight. If found guilty, Leicester could face a points deduction upon their return to the top tier.
