Supercomputer predicts final Championship table with Leeds, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Burnley twists

Sunderland’s hopes of securing an automatic promotion place were dealt a slight blow when they were forced to settle for a point in Saturday’s home clash with Watford.

Despite taking the lead with a first-half strike from Luke O’Nien, the Black Cats looked set to lose their unbeaten home record as Tom Dele-Bashiru and Imran Louza put their visitors into the lead with goals either side of half-time. The Hornets’ advantage remained in place until the final minutes of the game when Dennis Cirkin grabbed an equaliser and ensured Regis Le Bris’ side have not lost in their last seven league games.

However, in dropping points in three of their last five games, Sunderland are now sat five points adrift of second placed Sheffield United and a further two points adrift of leaders Leeds United, who are now viewed as many people’s favourites to secure the Championship title. There is, of course, a lot of football to be played this season and the unpredictability of the second tier of the English game means anything could happen between now and May.

But we thought we would take a look at how the coming months could play out in the promotion and play-off race with the help of the findings of a ‘Supercomputer’ provided by JeffBet.

Where have Sunderland placed in a predicted final Championship table?

1st: Leeds United - 104 points 2nd: Sheffield United - 89 points 3rd: Sunderland - 86 points 4th: Burnley - 83 points 5th: West Bromwich Albion - 73 points 6th: Norwich City - 73 points 7th: Middlesbrough - 72 points 8th: Watford - 72 points 9th: QPR - 68 points 10th: Millwall - 66 points 11th: Coventry City - 65 points 12th: Blackburn Rovers - 61 points 13th: Oxford United - 61 points 14th: Bristol City - 60 points 15th: Swansea City - 59 points 16th: Preston North End - 63 points 17th: Sheffield Wednesday - 54 points 18th: Stoke City - 54 points 19th: Hull City - 48 points 20th: Cardiff City - 48 points 21st: Portsmouth - 46 points 22nd: Luton Town - 44 points 23rd: Derby County - 42 points 24th: Plymouth Argyle - 35 points

What are the predictions for Sunderland’s Championship play-off fixtures?

Semi-final first leg: Sunderland 5-2 Norwich City - Burnley 0-0 West Bromwich Albion

Semi-final second leg: Norwich City 0-2 Sunderland - West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Burnley

Play-off Final: Sunderland 1-2 Burnley

How does the Supercomputer work?

The table represents the model's prediction of the final standings at the end of the season. It incorporates any actual results that have occurred so far if any and predicts the exact scores for the remaining games to compile a final league table. The position matrix is generated by simulating the entire season 10,000 times. For each simulation, the code records where each team finishes in the table. These results are then converted into percentages, showing the probability of each team finishing in each position in the league.

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