How many points Preston North End, Coventry City and Sunderland need for a Championship play-off spot

Preston North End have given themselves a fighting chance of securing a Championship play-off spot following their good run of form.

The Lilywhites are second in the division when it comes to league form over the last six games with four wins and two draws with only Leeds United bettering them. Ryan Lowe's men are just three points off of the play-offs and have a big game against Hull City at the weekend. They haven't beaten the Tigers at Deepdale since February 2020 and if they want to show their play-off credentials then a win is a must against Liam Rosenior's side with every point vital at this stage of the season.

North End endured a tricky January and with no new signings, things looked bleak but now there's genuine talk about Preston being involved in May's play-offs. The Championship is in to its final quarter with 12 games remaining for most sides, and the games are coming thick and fast ahead of March's international break.

There is still a lot of football to be played with plenty of twists and turned to be expected, but with 12 games remaining a nice even number, we can start getting the calculators out to see what might be needed to secure a top six finish. We've looked at the last ten seasons to see what has been needed to at least finish sixth.

A total of 74 points is the average to achieve a sixth-placed finish in the Championship over the last ten seasons. Sunderland's 69 points got them in to the play-offs last season and that was the lowest total needed over a ten-year period as they pipped Preston's Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers on goal difference.

Preston would need to win about seven of their final 12 games to meet that target of 74. Teams finishing in sixth however don't have the best record of reaching the Premier League with no team in the last decade winning promotion from that position. If you're feeling a bit more ambitious you can take a look at the teams that finished fourth to sixth over the last 10-years and how they fared in the play-offs.